One Hell of a Birthday
by Hanachan130999
Summary: Reason gives way to wanting and passion as Sasuke celebrates his 18th birthday. Jealousy tinges a few teens, erupting into fights, dismissal and overwhelming curiosity. AU, OOC, YAOI. SasuxNaru SasuxSai- full pairings within.
1. Chapter 1

Author-ess: So, here I am again with an idea… just random clips that force their way into my head when I'm working or out. And again, I was listening to music from my phone while I was working, after having just read a couple completed SasuNaru fics set in AU and somewhat OOC. That's when it hit me! I'll combine my perversion and love to dance until I drop. (which is terribly fun) So yes, this fic is all just written for the fact that I love sexy things, and I love music. Hence the following warning: **This is all pretty much written for the explicit content & lemony goodness**. **If you do NOT like BOYxBOY action, LEAVE NOW.** **Pairings include** (but not limited to -at this point) SasuSai, SasuNaru, ShikaTem & probably SuiKarin... If you're not down with all that stuff, well the 'back' button is just a hair's breath away. And if you're like me… read with all the fervor you can muster! Love.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto :)

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"Yo! Bro? Hey… HEY!"

As if being stirred from sleep prematurely wasn't bad enough, the jarring scream that filled Naruto's ear was enough to scare him directly into a sitting position in bed -clipping his unknown attacker in the bottom jaw as it connected with a sharp crack to his forehead.

"Tha fuck?" The blonde boy cried out, curling back down and grasping at the lump that was already forming on his dome. He winced upward, glaring at the teen in front of him.

"I could say the same thing asshole!" Kiba growled, rubbing his bottom jaw tenderly. "What the hell are you doing still sleeping anyway? It's almost time for school."

Naruto exhaled a long breath, narrowing a threatening glare at his friend before he spoke, "What the FUCK are _you_ doing in my room?"

With an exasperated sigh, the brunette began to explain, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I need you to help me out. I gotta get all of my DJ equipment into my van. I gotta set up for a gig tomorrow after school today."

The blonde slouched down, still gingerly tracing the bulge on his brow before responding, "I didn't know you had a gig. Is it really that important that I need to get out of bed _now_? What are you performing?"

"You seriously don't know?" came the reply. "I'm DJ'ing Sasuke's 18th birthday tomorrow night. Sounds like it's gonna be fucking amazing. He rented out an entire club for the thing. Everyone in our graduating class is invited, dude."

Shrugging somewhat, the blonde teen threw his legs over the side of his bed and stretched his arms over his head. With exaggerated irritation he spoke, "Aaaand? Why should I care if Mr. Perfect is having the best party of the century for his _oh-so-special _birthday?"

"A. You're coming to watch me work my magic. B. Any idiot knows it's going to be the best thing happening this year. There are gonna be tons of chicks, tons of food, and I've even heard that there will be go-go dancers on stripper poles." Kiba grinned.

At that, Naruto's concentration began to follow the conversation more directly, instead of eying the dirty piles of laundry all over the floor. "It's gonna be that good, eh?"

"Hell yeah. And it's gonna be even more amazing just because I'm gonna be DJ'ing." A goofy grin covered the brunette's cheeks as he pulled his friend by the wrist through their apartment to begin the packing.

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The first bell for lunch rang loudly overhead as Sasuke languidly rose from his seat in Advanced Physics, shuffling papers into his bag before throwing it around his shoulders and chest.

He had decided he wasn't much for eating cafeteria food, resigning himself to sit with his table of friends, a chocolate milk in tow. The usual chatter of the table droned into a humming as the Uchiha's thoughts wandered. The raven haired boy glanced around the lunch room, watching various groups of kids at their respective tables, laughing and joking as they ate. Before his thoughts could wander too long though, a quiet whisper invaded his personal space bubble, tickling his ear.

"We need to talk, Sasuke."

The teen glanced over his shoulder, eying the pale boy behind him. Though there wasn't much to Sai, even just the smallest grin made Sasuke's nerves tingle. Something about the strange teen kept the Uchiha from absolutely refusing the company. Lifting off of the table's bench seat, he nodded to the eyes that followed his movements and threw his bag over his shoulder again. A slow walk led the two out of the cafeteria and into the quiet hallway.

"What's this about, Sai?" Sasuke inquired, loosely pressing his hands into his pockets and leaning against the hallway wall. The mask of indifference on the raven's face was impeccable.

"I wanted to give you some of your birthday present early. Seeing as how you're probably going to be busy tomorrow and I most likely won't see you until the party." The other dark haired teen responded, a small smile quirking his lips. He hovered close, leaning in toward the other, pinning him against the wall.

Sai exhaled a soft breath against the teen's neck, whispering in a huskier tone, "I need you to come down stairs with me…" A smirk formed at his lips from the double entendre.

With a resigned sigh, the Uchiha thought for a moment. This was nothing new to the teen, seeing as how he'd had a fair share of _involvement _with the boy before him in the past. It was more than adequate to say that the pale, dark haired young man lusted after Sasuke, beckoning him every chance he got to act on the wanton emotion. And so, realizing he had nothing better to do, the raven haired teen caved to the pressure, allowing the other to tug him along by the wrist.

It was a short walk down a few flights of stairs toward the basement level of school. Most of the classrooms were reserved for after school activities. Both the boy's and girl's locker rooms were also at this level, along with a quiet bathroom that was hardly used during the school day. This is where the two teens found themselves, having used the secluded stalls before.

Sai casually brought the teen into one of the bathroom stalls, locking it quickly before turning to face the Uchiha. His heart thrummed loudly in his chest, reaching out a pale hand to the boy's cheek. They grew closer together, only a hair's breath apart, before Sasuke made the first move, as usual. He pressed his mouth into the other, roughly pushing his tongue into the open cavity. The engagement increased, heating with the friction between them.

Before long, both teens were working against each other, hands roughly feeling over tensed muscle. The strain it caused the two was enough to get them panting loudly, gasping for air between kisses. Sai's hands lingered around the raven's waist, tracing over velvety hips and then down the front of the Uchiha's pants. There he could feel the growing bulge he was all too fond of. He kneaded the mound rising under fabric, ghosting a whispered kiss across Sasuke's mouth at a sharp intake of air from the movement.

Hazy lust filled eyes met each other in another rough kiss before there was an entirely different movement separating the two. The Uchiha grasped around the base of the other teen's neck, grinning as he slowly pressed the boy down to his knees. He softly whispered with all the sensuality he could muster, "…for me, right?"

Sai's blank expression quickly changed to one of perverse desperation, trembling hands quickly unbuttoning and pulling apart the denim fly that separated him from the other teen's most intimate parts. He hastily slid the jeans down, revealing the tantalizing bulge promising just beneath the sheer cotton of black boxer-briefs. Without delay, he leaned in closer, pressing his mouth against the fabric, feeling Sasuke's member twitch with anticipation. That movement drove the teens into a frenzy, Sai pulling down the black fabric before him and the Uchiha leaning into the stall door, steadying himself.

A pale hand twisted through ebony hair in a loose fist, causing the dark haired teen to wince just slightly before greedy eyes raked over the sight before him. Stomach muscles tensed and shivered, the v of muscle leading down to a patch of dark swirls of hair. Sai lightly fingered the hair before grasping the shaft of the member tentatively. His warm, pink tongue pressed out of slightly parted lips to welcome the rigid member before him. A soft moan of satisfaction was all that he needed to hear before he found himself enveloping it's entirety into his mouth.

Sasuke's hips bucked at the sensation, driving himself deeper into the moist opening. Urgently he began an intent pace, lacing his fingers more roughly through the teens hair. He found himself thrusting forward, initially choking his partner with the intrusion. Sai's eyes watered, but he continued, his tongue lavishly caressing soft skin of the erection, lips tightening into an 'o'. He knew all too well just what got the Uchiha off.

Moans, groans and what seemed to be growls rolled off the two, the heat of their actions taking over. Sasuke's hand snaked down from the teens hair, wrapping around the side of his jaw and behind his neck. He was insistent on enjoying as much as he could get away with. Tightening his grip on the teen's face, he pushed himself in deeply, cutting off the boy's airway. His body lurched over at the immense sensation, letting out a long, throaty groan. The other teen gripped his hips in response, immediately tensing at a slight sense of panic combined with the overpowering urge to gag. He pushed against the Uchiha, making him ease himself out of the boy's mouth.

There was a slight pop as Sasuke's member was released. In that instant, Sai was pulled to his feet and pinned against the stall door. The other teen's eyes narrowed as ragged breaths left his lips. It was almost threatening, but for the most part was covered in lust and haze. Sai's breath fell from his lips in gulps, his cheeks tinged red and eyes still watered slightly.

Warm lips closed on his in a deep kiss, passionate and appreciating. Both body's eased back into the moment, feeling warm, roving hands on each other. Sasuke's lips parted for a short, but intense whisper, "Sai, I need to finish…" It trailed off as the Uchiha attached his lips to the teen's neck, leaving noticeable red splotches with sucks and bites.

With a light moan, the teen replied, "Oh-okay… Not like that… But, here…" He trembled an exhaled breath, and shuffled a 180 around the raven haired teen. Swiftly he turned away from the teen just to press his back flush to his frame. With just a slight adjustment of his hips, the boy caused another sharp breath to leave the Uchiha, his rear now curved deliciously into the other's groin. Sasuke immediately wrapped his arms around the figure in front of him, pressing his hips into the other teen's.

Growing groans and growls escaped the two as Sai dipped his back down a little, bending forward against the other boy. Unable to bear the heat any longer, the raven haired teen easily slipped off the other's jeans and boxers to reveal a pale, muscular ass. Grabbing it roughly after a light slap he leaned into the teen, fitting himself against the other as he moaned softly into the crook of Sai's neck. He was rewarded with a shiver as the dark haired teen bowed his head back, hands bracing against the tile of the stall wall.

He ground his hips in, making even himself shiver in anticipation before he reached an arm around to Sai's chest. Easily he worked two fingers into the teens mouth, feeling a soft suckle from the cavity, and removed them after being coated with saliva. Very unceremoniously he brought his hand back down to Sai's entrance and pressed against it, almost in a warning to the intrusion. After a moment of coaxing against the tight opening, he delivered both fingers in, knowing it wouldn't be too painful for the other teen. Feeling the slight tensing of the muscled entrance, he bucked against the other teen, gritting his teeth at the heat that had pooled in his stomach. It was too long for his taste, but a moment passed as he allowed for accommodation to the intrusion, and then scissored his fingers and stretched the opening as much as he could muster in his heat strained awareness.

At the first squeeze into the cavity, Sasuke's vision blurred into white, heat billowing off of his body. Arms wrapped deftly around the frame in front of him as his body pushed forward, easing himself into the tight entrance. Sai's gritted gasps and groans just pushed the raven haired teen further, his core screaming for the sensation. Lifting his arm to settle around the dark haired teens shoulder, the other hand wrapped tightly around his hip, Sasuke pulled out a bit and thrust himself deeper into the excruciatingly amazing feeling. The unintended brush against Sai's prostate erupted into a loud moan, his body arching violently.

The heat built between them, each thrust and gasp coming more roughly. Sai's endless howls seemed to mute in Sasuke's mind, hearing his own haggard breaths and grunts, the blood rushing to his head. The strain in his body bristled, his nerves on fire as the pit of his stomach almost seemed to spark at the churning heat building. His structure hitched, feeling his body almost at it's breaking point. With a last gasp of air, he pulled the hips in front of him tightly to his frame and whispered hoarsely, "This…"

He bowed his head, pulling out one more aching time and thrust in sharply again, tumbling into his own orgasm. Riding out the ebbing charge of the feeling, he pulled the teen in front of him into an upright position. "…is mine."

The finality of that statement caused Sai's breath to hitch as he felt a strong hand reach around his chest and arms, and then a second hand grasp tightly at his own member. The throbbing erection, which had been ignored until this point, pulsed at the very touch. Sasuke buried his head into the crook of the teen's neck and began to pump furiously, knowing that from all of the pressure against the teen's prostate during their engagement, he was close to his own release.

Kneading the throbbing unit as he thrilled it's entire length in long, rough passes, he parted his lips against Sai's ear. In a drawn whisper he spoke, "Sai, you know what I want…"

If it were possible, the teen's body tensed even more, his shoulders rigid at the statement directed at himself.

The airy voice came again, more demanding, "…say it."

In that moment, his body hitched again, feeling the slight throb still in his rear and the undying pleasure from Sasuke's hand, he exploded in passion. Knowing to speak on instinct, he moaned out "_Sa-su-keee". _His release coated the hand wrapped around him, as well as a good portion of the wall. Apparently the raven haired teen knew well enough to direct the spray away from them. For a few moments longer the charge was ridden out, feeling the hand on his member ebb into slowing movements before it stopped all together.

Sasuke was quick to pull out, grabbing some toilet paper and wiping his hand down as Sai dipped against the stall wall. He felt used, and taken, but he was contented at the feeling. The Uchiha seemed to feel none of it, his expression blanking as he pulled up his boxer-briefs and jeans to fasten them around his slender hips. He leaned into Sai, breathing lightly on his neck as he rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Perhaps you should clean up… Thanks for the gift. And I'll see you at the party, don't be late."

The door to the stall swung open and then closed again. A few steps echoed on the bathroom floor, before they fell silent entirely, lost as the bathroom door opened and closed again.

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Author-ess: Wow, surprisingly that was more entertaining to write than I thought. Well, I thought this was gonna be a _two-parter_, but I find myself putting a lot more into this than originally planned.. oh boy oh boy. And as I'm now nearing the end of chap. 2... I still find myself nowhere near the meaty details... This chap really just outlines Sasuke's 'hunger'. Horny teen boys will be horny teen boys, right? Did I mention that it's a bit OOC? I could swear I did. Meh, I'm not gonna make much more of Sai and Sasuke than what's really there... Horny teen boys.

**Oh Herro:** It came to my attention that this chapter might seem odd b/c it was noted as a SasuNaru *big grin* I promise I won't disappoint, but I'd like to put the most detail and thought into something that makes this whole shuh-bang mean something. Like I said, this chap is pretty much just two teens letting off a little steam. Ah, unrequited love...

Now even I think I need a post-coital cigarette... Ciao! And leave some love if you so desire ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Author-ess: Hiya folks! Not too much to say here, 'cept that I'm honestly curious as to how long this fic is gonna be... already reached 6k words outlining literally one day. I'm hoping not too long, but I'm positive it won't be too short either. In any case, there's some development down there! -points down the screen- And a lot less sexy. It's really just staging events for the day after. I loves me some development. !LOVE!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto :)

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The first bell signaling the end of the period rang and a collective groan came from the room, everyone taking lunch moving to get rid of trays and hurry off to their next class. The conversation that Naruto had been having with Shikamaru dropped on the spot, trying to convince his friend that it might just be worth while to end up at the fabled Uchiha's birthday bash.

The Nara shoved a hand into his pocket, the other holding his school books as he muttered a "Troublesome…" and nodded at the blonde, signaling his acknowledgement. They both parted and began to move their separate ways toward class.

A slow shuffle down the hall and Naruto was already in front of the door to his next class. He loathed the idea of opening his Algebra book, knowing all too well that he'd be lost after the first five minutes. Leaning against the wall, he eyed the passers bye, all frantically running toward one class or another. The slam of lockers and giggle of girls was dizzying, to say the least. It only seemed to grow as a familiar face burned it's way into his eyes. The chatter of the party to come in the next 24 hours seemed to be all anyone could talk about as a pale, raven haired teen turned into view.

Sasuke could hear the conversations just loud enough to be discerned as high hopes and statements of awe in anticipation for the celebration tomorrow. It brought a slight grin to his otherwise blank features. Naruto eyed him expectantly, something seemed off about him. His hair wasn't it's usual perfection, mussed over as if he'd been playing some sport or other exerting activity. The Uchiha's cheeks were in visible blush, also as if he'd just been engaged in strenuous activity. Beyond that, his clothes seemed wrinkled and he walked with a barely noticeable slowness to his gate.

For some reason, the blonde wanted to know just what the hell was wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. The Uchiha was never seen in anything but his perfection. He cursed himself for his obvious curiosity once the raven haired teen glanced his way. Sasuke automatically averted his gaze, his cheeks tingeing just a little more pink as he strode up to the same door Naruto had been standing to the side of. He reached for the handle, his hand twitching a bit as he turned the knob and walked into the room. Noting the obvious strain in movement, the blonde became even more curious. Had there been a fight of some sort that he hadn't gotten word of yet?

The second bell rang loudly overhead, a warning to all those who still lingered in the halls. Quietly Naruto let himself into the classroom, his eyes automatically moving to Sasuke, who was relaxing in his seat to the far end of the room. Before their teacher could enter the room and ruin his train of thought, the blonde lurched into the seat behind the raven haired teen. Leaning forward, he whispered discretely, "Hey, you look a little worse for wear. Ya alright?"

"Fine." was the soft reply, devoid of any real emotion.

That in itself was surprising to the teen. It wasn't like Sasuke to give anything but his usual soft spoken grunt in response to anyone really. For the entirety of the next period the blonde found himself curiously eyeing Sasuke's movements. There was definitely something off about him. If the slouch in his seat didn't give it away automatically, it was the softness of his gaze that was unnerving. It was almost euphoric and definitely not a _Uchiha_ expression. Letting his curiosity get the better of him wasn't helping Naruto either. He knew that Sasuke knew he was being observed, glancing an eye back toward the blonde every so often on the pretense of looking around the room casually.

Before the period seemed to begin, a loud bell rang overhead, signaling the class's end. The teacher in front of the class smiled and wished everyone a good weekend as she sat down at her desk and sorted through paperwork. Slowly teens filed out of the classroom toward the hall, engaging each other in happy banter and smiles. The blonde teen stood as his now growing obsession began to rise, gathering his things. Sasuke commenced walking toward the door to leave (with the blonde teen in tow) but paused in his stride, listening to the panicked shuffling behind him. He glanced back to Naruto, lips quirking at the corner before he spoke, "Can I help you with something, hm?"

The teen froze, caught in his obsessive scrutiny of the other. Words stumbled from his mouth, into an uncharacteristic, nervous congealment. "I-Uh.. It's just.. But… I… N-No…"

He deadpanned at his own idiocy, knowing that his confused words were not only unconvincing, but embarrassing as hell. _Oi…_ The teen thought, popping himself in the forehead with a palm.

An impassive "Hn." was the retort as Sasuke fled the room in a few quick strides before the blonde could gather his thoughts back up.

And just as that moment had passed, the rest of Naruto's afternoon seemed to follow just as ungracefully. He managed to begin a fight with one of his few female friends with just a slip of the tongue. He managed to speak out of turn with one of his harshest teachers, earning himself detention after class on Monday. And after all of that mess, he had managed to rip a hole in what was his favorite pair of jeans after tripping down the last few stairs from the second floor of the building.

"OH-GOOD-HOLY-MOTHER-OF-FU…!" He hissed loudly, noticing the large gash across his knee through the tear in the material.

"Oi, Naruto, you've seen better days." came the throaty voice of none other than his roommate and best friend.

The blonde glared angrily at the teen crouched down to his position, letting out a hiss through clenched teeth. Today was NOT his day, and getting badgered by his best friend was NOT going to make it better.

As though the angry glare from his friend made no difference, Kiba grinned and spoke, "Yo, I just wanted to tell ya that I won't be home tonight til late. I gotta set up that whole gig over at _Pandemonium_. So I'll see ya either late tonight or in the morning."

Brow furrowing at the statement, the blonde replied, "What the hell is 'pandemen-er'… whatever you just said?"

Kiba chuckled some, offering a hand to his friend as he stood. "That's where the party's gonna happen. _Pandemonium_ -down on 5th and main. It's gonna be the shit, dude. We're gonna have a good time."

"Yeah, except I'm gonna be standing there alone like an asshole while you're DJ'ing it up." came the witty reply.

The brunette scratched the back of his neck in thought, shaking his head, "Naw, I texted the guys, they said they'd go. I think Shika might be pissed I forced him, but…"

"Wait, how'd you do that?"

With a mischievous grin Kiba barked back excitedly, "It didn't take much. I just told him that if he didn't go I'd tell Temari that he started smoking again. Man, if you thought you hated that smell, think again. Bitch fractured his finger just to get a pack of smokes out of his hand."

Naruto replied with a 'jeeze' expression and took Kiba's hand to stand. They ended the conversation with a fist bump and a 'later' and headed their opposite directions.

…

The blonde teen lingered at his locker, shuffling books around, deciding what things he'd need to complete homework assignments. The halls were all but baron, not a sound but a few doors opening and closing as teachers left with large bags and suitcases in tow. He couldn't help but let his mind wander to the topic of choice today. It was Mr. Perfect's birthday tomorrow. And one Sasuke Uchiha had seemed oddly different today during class. Naruto couldn't pin point it, but he almost seemed… _pleasant_, though battered and seemingly beaten.

Walking the short distance through the hall, he relished in the quiet of the school. You'd have never known that just hours before there had been urgent hustle from hundreds of teens, loud bangs and chatter enough to make your mind spin. As he rounded another corner, he paused, noting a noise developing in the distance. There was the thrum of a baseline so thick it almost seemed to rattle the floor, and what seemed to be the sing-song echoes of voices.

He curiously peeked his head around a corner, noting the thrum getting louder. Following his ears down the hall, he stopped at the flight of stairs just outside the gymnasium. The blonde knew that this staircase connected the ground floor to the basement, but recalled that there weren't any scheduled practices this afternoon.

This was the second time today that curiosity would get the better of the teen as he silently strode down the stairs, listening to a bold baseline rattle the floor. Still following the sound, he came across a loud room at the end of the darkly lit hallway. He couldn't place the song, as all the lyrics had been removed, but he recognized the smash hit from over the radio.

Peeking a head into the room, he was surprised as the volume increased and several feet landed on the floor in unison. He watched the team of seven dancers moving in group, shoulders and hips swaying to the rhythm of the music. They paired off, leaving one bright, bubbly pink haired teen to sing out the chorus of the song, mimicking the movements of her counterparts. It was surprising to see so many people dancing so _well_ outside of a music video.

At the head of the room, a raven haired teen tapped his foot to the base beat, eyeing each person's movement down to the slightest. An exasperated voice chimed in as the second base wave hit and the pairs separated in harmony. He hit pause on the boom box next to him and sighed as he spoke.

"Suigetsu, you can't do that… You need to be tighter in the frame. Push off of him in the next step." the Uchiha chided.

The light haired teen crossed his arms and spoke defiantly, "No-one will notice if I'm off by one millisecond… Sai can make up for my slow pull off."

Sasuke wasn't satisfied at that answer, roughly butting in between the two teens as he embraced Sai into the first position of the move. "Watch and repeat." he droned.

The raven haired teen braced against the other, mimicking the prior movement. A rotating of hips, arm loosely wrapped around the other's shoulders, falling backward into an arch that he'd literally be able to touch the floor in, and then a snap back into the upright position before thrusting his arms into Sai's chest and rotating out of the embrace. -_The other teen wore a nervous, perplexed expression, his hands tensing around the raven haired teen. He blushed barely as the boy bent backward, feeling himself press against the other. And without another thought, the feeling left his arms in a circular sidestep_.

"I need it stronger from you, man." Sasuke sighed and gingerly touched Suigetsu's shoulder.

With a defeated nod, the young man agreed, "Yeah, yeah. I'll get it down.", and returned to position with the dark haired teen.

The Uchiha smiled some and shook his head, returning to the front of the room. He scratched his bare midriff and stomped his foot lightly to get the beat going again. The music came back on full blast and Naruto winced, glancing from the unified dancers back to the Uchiha. And there he was, Mr. Perfect. Mr. Captain-of-the-basketball-team, Mr. Lead-choir-tenor, and now apparently Mr. Choreography-teacher was training his beloved group of friends to dance.

Naruto felt a sudden urge to stomp into the room and ruin what was obviously hard practiced work. A gleam of jealousy danced in his eyes. He appraised the Uchiha with a harsh glare, just now noticing that the teen wasn't wearing anything but a pair of loose black sweats riding dangerously low on narrow hips.

He seethed at the adoration that was handed over to the teen, wondering halfheartedly why everyone thought he was so amazing -beside the 4.0 average… and the rise in basketball history… and the amazing voice that graced every Christmas show.

He watched the teen, half lidded, hiding in the shadows. Sasuke's hips swayed lightly at the rhythm of the music, his lips parted, head tilted back. The loud rumbling of the base washed over him, letting his body caress every beat with it's own movement. It was then that Naruto realized that he envied the teen more than he'd thought. That god-damn body seemed to be perfect -so pale he could be etched out of white marble, with the musculature to match that of a Greek god.

The blonde scrubbed his hands against his face roughly, trying to rid the image of Sasuke from his mind. He turned and walked away from the door, unable to let his thoughts fall from the picture of Sasuke's body, almost snake like, dancing to the beat of the base. _Great. Just great_. Now, not only was the blonde envious of Sasuke's perfect world, he also envied even just the Uchiha's appearance. _The fucker's perfect in every god-damned way_… He thought to himself, growling under his breath.

"How is he so perfect?" the blonde teen whispered to himself, stalking silently from the rumble of base. It quieted after a while, much to Naruto's satisfaction, as he slowly strode out of the double doors of the high school.

…

"Alright, lets wrap this up guys…" came the soft, curt voice of the dance captain.

A resounding sigh echoed from all seven of the team members, Suigetsu and Karin slumping against each other wearily. Juugo stretched his arms over his head, bending back some to relieve tensed muscles. Ino tilted her head from side to side, feeling a cramped muscle in her neck throb lightly.

Observing the defeated appearance of his group, Sasuke spoke as encouragingly as he could, "Look, I'm sorry for hauling you all in here last minute. I just wanted to make sure thing's will be perfect for tomorrow. And, from watching you all today, I think we're really ready."

Throwing a towel over his shoulder, he gave a passing half-smile to his dance troupe and collected his shirt and bag. "Rest up, I'll see you guys tomorrow -5pm sharp, alright?" The Uchiha threw one last gaze across the group and moved to the door, watching each teen as they filed out. Juugo towed the boom box in hand as he nodded toward the raven haired teen. Suigetsu left with Karin at arm's length, both lazily striding out of the door. The trio of Ino, Sakura and Hinata chatted happily as they passed, waving as a group to Sasuke.

The last teen threw on his black undershirt, cautiously flitting his eyes up to the Uchiha. His nerves were on edge, body feeling as if it had been thoroughly spent (and for all intensive purposes, it had been). He cleared his throat as his slow gait silently brought him up to the raven haired teen. After an awkward moment of shuffling, he peeked curious eyes up to Sasuke, who was leaning heavily on the wall behind him, hand at the light switch to the room. It looked as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Clearing his throat again, Sai started meekly, "Ah, Sasuke…"

Before the teen could get another word in edge wise, the Uchiha straightened and flipped the light switch, leaving the two in an almost darkness, dim light from the hall filtering through the door.

The nervous teen felt a breath warm his face, noting the black shadow that hovered just before him. His stomach clenched, lurching in his throat at the close proximity of the body just inches away. He reached out a hand to touch Sasuke's bare chest, but grasped only air as the raven haired teen had moved back a step. Suddenly he felt a warm hand wrap around his. It was welcoming, until the grip tightened, tensing all of the bones until they groaned in rebellion. The dark haired teen inhaled abruptly, wincing at his captor. "W-Wha…" he stumbled over his words.

In a deceivingly soft tone, one that contrasted sharply from the action it followed, Sasuke whispered clearly, "Listen, Sai. I've told you already, and I'm not sure there's anything else I can do to make you believe it… but what happened before…" he paused for a moment, releasing the teens hand in a sharp throw, continuing an uncharacteristically long drawl, "…it doesn't mean anything. It _never_ meant anything. I hate when it's _weird_ like this…"

Sai's jaw clenched, his eyes downcast, avoiding the glare he could feel coming off of the Uchiha.

"I don't know why you keep coming back." the raven haired teen whispered half to the listening teen and half to himself.

Wasting no time, Sasuke turned on his heel, striding out the door in silence. The sullen teen could only cradle his hand to his chest, gazing blankly at the floor. His stomach swelled with uneasy nausea, churning with the strong thrum in his rib cage, his heart hyperactive from the fervent emotion staining his cheeks. He couldn't even bring himself to cry, having felt the rejection before.

Sai quietly walked from the darkened classroom, closing the door behind himself. The hallway was baron, and he was left to think strenuous, emotionally drowned thoughts by himself. After a moment of blank contemplation, a small grin etched his lips, almost a grimace. _Ever the masochist_…

...

Naruto had resigned the rest of his night to looking up different club videos online. His DSL was painfully slow tonight, and he wanted nothing more than to absorb as much dance footage as possible. There was no possible way he was going to be stood up by the Uchiha. Mr. Perfect was good, but he knew he could be better. The loud thrum of different club hits played over his speakers as different dancers _shimmied, shook and all out grooved _across the screen. After the first hour and a half of watching videos, the blonde stood to practice what he'd seen performed.

He had never thought before that he'd lacked at anything in the physical department, but his coordination with the moves he mimicked said differently. It was going to be a very long night. He'd become winded very quickly, face a deep crimson and muscles burning at the movements that had never been practiced before.

_Bzzzz Bzzzz Bzzzz_

The blonde teen eyed his cell curiously. Someone had sent him a text message. Landing heavily with a thud in his computer chair, he plucked up the small black device and flipped it open. It read '_Text from: Nara_' His brow furrowed a bit, but he opened the message and studied it's contents.

'_Hey, what are u goin to wear to the party tmr_?'

Naruto's face blanched. He hadn't actually thought about it at all. In fact, the teen hadn't thought about any of the details- what to wear, when it started, how to get in, when to leave, if there was going to be food. All of the thoughts struck the blonde at once, and he felt a mild wind of panic take over.

In a rushed response text he replied, '_Shit man, no idea a/b ne of it. Did u get ne info a/b the party_?'

'_Troublesome… hold on.'_

The blonde clicked open the message, a frown edging into his features from the retort. He jumped not a moment later. Just as he'd pressed the reply button, his phone started buzzing from a call.

He held the device up to his ear after hitting 'accept' and spoke curiously, "Hello?"

A distinctly bored tone droned into his ear, "Oi, you're serious? You didn't think to grab an invitation from Sasuke or his fan club?"

"Damn. Knew I was forgetting something…"

The lazy Nara sighed and spoke, "Yeah, yeah. Head over here tomorrow around noon, I'll give you the run down."

A yawn echoed over the line before all that was heard was a click and a dial tone.

.

..

...

Author-ess: Okay! So after a few reviews and some contemplation, I let myself forgo sleep (after working an overnight shift) and being awake almost 24 hours just to push out another chappie. I'm not certain what there is to say... Lessee... No, Naruto doesn't have any idea how to dance. Can you imagine him whipping out the funky chicken? I just lol'd. This one was less sexy and more drama, I suppose. The next chapter brings us to party central! whoohoo! As always, love-love-love!


	3. Chapter 3

(long)Author-ess: [rant] **OH JEEBUS**. Thank god I finally realized there was a way to get around the uploading problems. I've had this thing written for like a week, and I wasn't able to touch a thing! TY forums. [endrant]

Ya know, I get the warm fuzzies every time I get one of those reviews that brings a grin to my lips. And it gives me a little extra push to keep whatever story I'm writing going. So yeah, I'll give a warm shout out to _Seph Lorraine _for the extra motivation and my other few reviewers. Here's a digi-hug for all of the smiles that you've warranted!

As an aside, I apologize for the lack of updates in the prior weeks. Had just gotten off a week of overnights at work and it took a day or so to get my bearings right. Woke up at three the other morning (internal clock gone haywire) and have just been in a funk since. Migraine and lethargy aside, I know, excuses excuses. Again, my apologies. I'm finally getting to my favorite part of this whole thing and half wondering just how well I can describe just what I see in my mind's eye. **Longer chapter** & here goes!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto -nor any game referenced -nor any licensed products -nor any copyrighted songs. Long n short, I own nothing. :)

...

..

.

A thunderous rumble and crack sounded in the darkness -the roar of a battlefield and then the clatter of automatic rounds reverberated roughly. A tired blonde teen pressed his eyes as tightly together as he could, hearing another shriek and then what resembled the sound of a mountain being split in two. _Christ-fuck_… he groaned inwardly to himself. The loud, ear-splitting roar of weapon fire and grenades wasn't the thing to irritate him. What irritated Naruto was the fact that he knew _exactly_ what those sounds were. He stumbled out of bed, almost falling face first into the floor before untangling sheets from his weary legs. The rampage of noises continued and resounded through the walls of his room as he opened his door.

"FUCKING BASTARD! COME BACK HERE!" A shout cut through the air with a barrage of bullet storms.

Eyes nearly entirely closed, the zombie teen stumbled down the short hall from his room into an open living room. Another crash and machine gun fire greeted him with even more vigor. He stalked forward toward a small dark grey couch, seeing a tuft of brown hair peeking up over the back cushion. Without another thought, he lurched forward, grabbing up a round pillow, gripping it tightly between clenched fists. The whirring of a helicopter invaded his thoughts, and he glanced through one cracked eye at the 40" plasma television not fifteen feet from him. He glanced back down at the brunette that had caused the problem in the first place and tapped him on the shoulder lightly.

The startled teen turned his head at just the right angle, and the first thing that caught Kiba's attention was the sharp slap of a soft corduroy bludgeon. Caught entirely off guard, he was thrown back into the arm of the couch with a grunt and a gasp. Rubbing his hand over his face, he glared up from his crumpled position.

"The hell?" He shrieked, raising a hand open palmed into the air over his face for protection, his other hand gripped tightly around a black game controller.

Naruto rubbed sleep from his eyes as he tossed the accent pillow back on to the couch. Awareness refused to grace him, his body still aching to go back to sleep. Though his throat was parched and his muscles still had a laziness to them, he croaked in the best irritated voice he could muster, "I swear to god. If you wake me up one more time... I-will-kill-you." The sharp words were accentuated with a pause after each one, the expression that followed showing obvious malicious intent, even through sleepy haze.

"Fuck, princess. I'm sorry. Pretty surprised the pea didn't wake you, though." Kiba growled back, half irritated and half amused.

The blonde's expression blanked as he continued to rub sleep from half of his face. He threw himself over the couch, legs hanging off the arm rest, body in an awkwardly sprawled position.

The brunette teen grunted in amusement and snatched up the remote, lowering the volume to a reasonable level. He shifted his eyes down to the languid body beside him, grinning at his sorry state.

"Modern Warfare?" Naruto grumbled almost inaudibly.

"Black Ops. Friggin' Shika's destroying us…" the brunette retorted, but as an afterthought spoke again, "You shouldn't be sleeping still anyway. It's almost eleven and you still have to get ready to head over to his place."

"How'd you know I was going there?" Naruto drawled, cocking his head toward his friend.

"Because I'm going too, duh. I don't have to be at the club until five, so I have some time to hang out and get ready and stuff." Kiba cracked his knuckles and folded his arms over his chest, easing back into the crook of the couch as the final death toll flashed over the screen.

After about ten minutes of dozing in and out of consciousness Naruto was abruptly stirred again with a sharp jab in his ribs. He growled and grasped a hand to his side, glaring at the teen beside him.

"Get the hell up and get ready. I'm not waiting for your ass." Kiba huffed, smiling down to his friend with an eye closed.

Groaning as his joints cracked in a few miscellaneous places, the blonde rolled off the couch and stumbled into an upright position. A few short strides brought him to the bathroom, at which point he stripped down and nearly fell into the shower. The first burst of cold water hit him like a brick wall, jarring him from his haze. The teen huddled toward the back of the stall, teeth chattering as he waited for the water to warm up.

After a nice hot cleansing, Naruto wrapped himself in a towel, threw on some deodorant and headed for his room. He shoved open his closet and paused. _What am I gonna wear?_ He thought to himself, rummaging through various hangers of clothes that didn't appeal to him in the least. He blankly stared at the closet full of brightly colored tees and denim that he wore on a day to day basis. Groaning inwardly, he crosses his arms over his chest and scowled at his closet, hoping that if he scowled hard enough maybe something desirable would pop up.

Kiba turned his head toward the hall, having noted that even after another solid round of pvp he hadn't heard a sound come from Naruto's room. With an exasperated sigh, he stood, backing out of the game he was in and tossed the controller down on the couch.

"If you're sleeping again, I swear I'll…" the brunette began, but paused, his face distorting in a confused expression as he entered the hall toward his friend's room. He stared at Naruto, closing the few steps it took to enter his doorway, and followed his intent gaze into the closet. Shifting his eyes from the closet to his friend, back to his closet, he moved to stand next to the blonde.

"Ah… if you concentrate any harder, the neighbors are gonna call the fire department. 'Cause your brain's obviously having a melt down."

With that, Naruto's shoulders jumped a bit in surprise, having just realized his friend was standing next to him. He scowled harder into his closet, crossing and uncrossing his arms. He shifted from one foot to the other as he frowned and finally sighed in defeat.

"Shut up asshole…" the blonde retorted just a little too slowly to be a come back.

Kiba smirked and nudged his friend in the side with an elbow. "What are you doing?"

"Eh… I don't have anything to wear to the party." Naruto replied, frowning and rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.

The brunette tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed through the brightly colored arrangement of shirts and blue denims hung in no particular order. With a half smirk he ribbed at the blonde again, "And it really took you that long to figure this out?"

The blonde scowled at his friend, narrowing his eyes before gazing back at his closet, shifting from side to side uncomfortably. "What do I do…" he murmured to himself despondently.

Noticing his friends anxious behavior, Kiba rolled his head to the side and nudged Naruto with his elbow again. "C'mon. I'm sure I've got something that'll fit you."

After following Kiba to his room, the blonde's eyes widened as he watched his friend open the back half of his closet. Each hanger was adorned with a different style of black garment -some in leather, some in mesh, others adorned with flames or sequins. The clatter of chains and zippers fought with each other as Kiba sifted through each piece of clothing.

"Where did you get all of that?" Naruto inquired with a gawking eye.

"How long have I been DJ'ing?" the brunette answered the question with another. "I don't just wear whatever to clubs, jesus." he explained, still sorting through various black articles.

After another minute of sorting, Kiba let out an appreciative grunt and tossed a few pieces of clothing onto his bed, followed by a pair of black denim jeans. He stood, stretching his back from the huddled position he'd been in and nodded toward the pile of clothes on his bed. "That should be good for tonight, try 'em on."

Naruto eyed the first thing he picked up, brow furrowing at the consistency of the material. He could see his hand right through the miniature holes of the mesh. "Ehhhh…" he began nervously.

The brunette frowned at his friend, leaning a hand on his hip, his other arm slack at his side. "There's another shirt to go over that. Quit bitchin' and just throw 'em on."

Still frowning slightly, the blonde shuffled down the hall to his own room and closed the door. He sifted through his own drawers to find a pair of navy blue boxer-briefs to wear under the jeans and began dressing in his attire for the evening. He fought with the stretchy mesh material, finally pulling his head through it's corresponding hole. At the end of each arm's length was a small hole for his thumb, of which he laced through and pulled the bottom of the shirt down with a snap around his hips. After pulling on the loose black denim jeans, he appraised himself in his mirror. The black denim had silver embroidery along each pant leg, licking around his calves and thighs like flames, with matching embroidery on the back pockets.

Naruto pulled on the half sleeved black button up that was meant to hang over the mesh top. It was tight, but light weight, with an almost silky texture. He chose to leave the buttons undone, knowing the tightness would just pull at his chest in an uncomfortable fashion. Again, after the entire ensemble was complete, he took a look at himself in the mirror. Naruto would never say it aloud, but he had to hand it to Kiba, he was good at picking out clothes. Albeit, the outfit was nothing that he would ever have for his own personal use. It seemed skimpy, and he chewed his bottom lip in thought. His toned chest and abdomen were clear as day through the mesh, and he was grateful for the shirt he wore over it.

_I suppose it won't matter, it'll be dark in the club anyway…_ The teen thought to himself, shifting so that his hip showed enough to be almost enticing in the mirror. Naruto worked through a couple positions, feeling the movement of the material as he tested the limits of the fabric. His door creaked open some and Kiba stepped in.

Watching his friend with a skeptical eye, he intruded on the blonde's thoughts, "It'll move with ya. I normally wear stuff like that to raves." He grabbed the blonde's wrist and laced a bright, lime green cuff around it.

Naruto gave his friend a bewildered look, tracing his fingers over the leather band. It read 'VIP' which was followed by a familiar crest.

"That will let you into the VIP sections of the party. I got a few for all of us, so that we can hang out together." Kiba smirked as he watched Naruto incline his head in a confused fashion.

"I'm VIP 'cause I'm the DJ. It's a perk." he continued, shrugging.

Kiba stalked into the bathroom and came back out with a small black container, tossing it to the blonde. "Do something with that mop." he chortled.

Naruto glanced down at the container which read _'AXE Whatever'_. He opened the top to reveal a blue, sticky paste and shrugged. _Least it smells good._ He thought, dabbing a nice amount with his finger and working it between his hands. He ran the goo through his hair, giving it an overly mussed appeal. After a few finishing touches, he appreciated his reflection. His hair stuck out in a messy just-rolled-out-of-bed fashion and he nodded some.

The blonde followed his friend into the living room. Kiba deftly picked up a black duffel bag of obvious importance and scooped up his laptop with charger and his three terabyte hard drive. Gingerly he dropped his electronics into the bag and picked up both sets of apartment keys. Tossing a set to Naruto, he quirked his lips and inquired, "Ready?" The blonde just nodded and they were out the door heading toward Kiba's big black jeep. Stowing away the bag in the trunk, the brunette fired up the ignition and winced slightly as the jeep growled into awareness. The loud roar of the engine intensified as he threw the vehicle into drive and they were off.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they were parked outside of Shikamaru's house. There was a long line of cars parked out on the street as well as a few vehicles in the driveway. Naruto raised his brow at the obvious company and eased himself out of the vehicle, waiting for Kiba to make his way around. As soon as they regrouped together, the two strode up the driveway on to the porch of the house and rang the doorbell. A shuffle was heard from inside and then a laugh. The two friends waited a moment longer before Kiba rapped his knuckles upon the door.

"It's open!" came the shout from inside.

Naruto and Kiba glanced at each other, shrugging and threw the door open, taking a few steps inside. Choji peeked his head around the corner toward the entryway and grinned, waving a handful of chips at his companions. "Hey!" he slurred around a mouthful of snacks.

The blonde grinned back at his friend, closing the door behind them and walked into the familiar living room. It was homely, to say the least. A few large, well used couches and a love seat crowded around a coffee table. A large TV placed on the wall just beyond, surrounded by a home theater system and a few very used game consoles. DVDs and games were strewn around miscellaneously on lamp stands and end tables. A large oak bookcase filled with photos, knick-knacks and books stood beside the doorway to a lived in kitchen. Through the doorway you could see a kitchen table sized for a small family covered in unhealthy snacks, a few pizza boxes (already worked through) and cans of soda.

Naruto smiled happily at the group that was currently stretched out on couches watching the TV in awe. Choji at the far end of the room, sifting through a bag of chips. Lee sat at the opposite end of the room, smilingly wildly at the TV screen. Kiba took a seat next to him, chattering about the game. Shino sat on the couch in front of the television, fervently pressing buttons on the game controller in his hands, black sunglasses in place even indoors. Next to him legs dangled over the back of the couch -at which the blonde was confused, until he took a few steps toward the scene. There Shikamaru sat, opposite the way any normal person would sit. His legs firmly in place around the back of the couch, back upon the seat cushion and head tilted over the edge just enough to be able to see the TV screen. His bored expression firmly in place as his fingers deftly pressed an array of buttons, pounding out a combo move that threw one of the characters off the screen.

From what Naruto could tell, he already had Shino down to a quarter health, having not been grazed at all. Before another minute could pass, the final word echoed. _'FATALITY' _Shino threw his controller toward Kiba and crossed his arms over chest, obviously irritated. Muttering more to himself than anyone else he cursed, "Fuck you and Shao Kahn…"

"And I gave myself a handicap for you." Shika laughed, returning to the character menu.

"Wait, I haven't seen this one yet… What is this?" Kiba inquired as he choose a random character.

"It's the new release for April. Revamp on the old Mortal Kombat…" The Nara replied, again choosing Shao Kahn.

"How'd you get this?" Naruto chimed in, perching himself on the armrest of the main couch.

"Meh. Internship. I get to test out new games before they're actually released." was the answer.

"Damn." was the decisive reply from the group.

Everyone settled into position in the group and watched an explosion of moves on the screen. After only a few minutes of combos Shao Kahn's laugh echoed as _'FATALITY'_ scrolled across the screen again. Shika righted himself on the couch, tossing his controller to Lee, allowing for some actual game time to progress. Naruto slipped himself down into the third seat of the couch and leaned against the armrest, a small smile graced his features as he watched the fighting.

A "YOSH!" made everyone jump simultaneously as they all looked toward Lee -who had the happiest smile ever planted on his face.

"Dude, you're loosing." Kiba chided, smashing out another set that bolted Lee's character to the floor.

"I know, but I figured out a combination move!" the teen excitedly chirped.

Most of the teens grinned and Choji chuckled. Tenten joined the group, a plate of food in her hands as she sat down next to Choji. Temari was quick to follow her out of the kitchen, leaning against the back of the couch behind Shikamaru. She idly played with his ponytail. There was a nice sense of placidity to the room. Everyone enjoyed themselves, cheering one fighter on or another, calling dibs for the next fights.

Naruto glanced around the living area eyeing all of his friends. Most of them were already adorned in club gear ranging from flat blacks of the guys to dazzling silvers and blacks of the girls. Both Tenten and Temari were wearing skimpy tops, showing more cleavage than necessary. The latter rounded the couch to sit in Shikamaru's lap, her noisy thigh high boots clapping on the hard wood floor. Lee wore his usual colors, though darker than normal -a pair of forest green and black cargos adorned with studded belt and a tight forest green sleeveless-hooded top. Shikamaru wore a tight pair of skinny black jeans and a black tee, solid around the chest and mesh around the waist. The silent Shino was dressed in a black trench coat and what seemed to be black jeans. Choji wore the most normal clothes of everyone -black short sleeved button up shirt and a loose pair of dark washed denim jeans.

Time passed from minutes to hours, different teens changing position to better seat themselves in front of the TV for game play. The girls chattered to each other across the room about the night's events. It was almost bizarre to the blonde, seeing everyone comfortable in their odd dress. He himself fidgeted with the mesh of his sleeves, fingers lacing and unlacing through holes. His lips drew together in a thin line, expression pensive. Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, his brows knitting together. After a few moments of staring at his friend silently, he shifted toward the blonde.

"Oi, if you think any harder you're going to set off the smoke alarm. What gives?" the Nara whispered.

Naruto jumped some at the intrusion, shooting a confused glance to the teen. Shika cocked his head to the side, giving an inquiring expression. "You've been staring off in your own little world for like fifteen minutes, man."

"O-oh… I.. yeah. Sorry." the blonde mumbled, his cheeks tingeing some in embarrassment.

Shikamaru tapped his girlfriend's side lightly a few times, moving from underneath her to stand from the couch. She frowned some, but gathered her conversation back with Tenten. The teen tugged Naruto's sleeve lightly and motioned for him to follow into the kitchen. Kiba's eyes raised to follow the duo's movement but the Nara waved him off, walking into the next room with Naruto in tow.

He leaned against the island counter of his kitchen, staring at the blonde with his head tilted some. His eyes followed the teen's uncomfortable movements. "So?" he inquired again.

Naruto pulled up a chair to the kitchen table across from his friend and fidgeted with his mesh a bit more. He could tell that an explanation was necessary, but couldn't find the words. After a moment more of pulling on his sleeve, he glanced up to meet his friend's gaze, half grinning.

Shikamaru sighed, pulling up a chair in front of the blonde, leaning back lazily with an arm around the back of the chair. "What's wrong?"

With a soft sigh, the blonde teen lifted his hands to his face and rubbed at his eyes some. "I don't know…" he muttered.

The teen before him leaned forward, eyeing his friend. "Well, you're distracted, nervous, anxious and if you keep fidgeting like that you're going to tear a hole in that shirt." he read off a list of obvious qualities Naruto had been oblivious to. The blonde just furrowed his brows and gazed down, finding an interesting pattern on the tile floor. "I take it you're nervous about this party?" the Nara edged forward a bit more, leaning his elbows on his knees, cupping his hands together.

"Yeah…" Naruto began, glancing up to his friend and then back down before continuing, "…I just don't know. I mean, how this whole thing's going to work. I don't know how to dance. This outfit is awful. There are gonna be a bunch of people there that I don't really know. I didn't get a gift for Sasuke. Him and his perfect friends are gonna be there. And I saw them dancing the other day, and it was so cool. And there's no way I'll be able to compare to all of that. And I just don't wanna make an asshole out of myself in front of them…" His thoughts began to draw out into one long sentence.

Shikamaru stared curiously at his friend, frowning some as he asked, "Why do you care if Sasuke's going to be there with all of his friends? It is _his_ party. We're going to be there to hang out with too. You're not going to be there alone." Naruto pressed his lips together, silent. His face began to flush as his thoughts wandered back to the day he'd seen Sasuke dancing. The smooth movement of his bare hips from side to side. He tried to shake the thoughts from his mind, closing his eyes.

At that the Nara half grinned before he spoke again, "Just who are you trying to impress?"

Naruto's eyes shot open, wide at Shikamaru with a deer-in-headlights look. All of the cogs seemed to click into place as Shikamaru smirked and parted his lips to speak, but the blonde cut in before he could be berated.

"Look, no-one. I'm not trying to impress anyone. It's nothing Shika." He raised his hands in the air, halting the conversation right there.

The dark haired teen's eyebrows pulled up, his eyes narrowing on the blonde. "Touchy…" he drawled before he leaned back and reached an arm out to his countertop. He withdrew a dark envelope, covered in silver scrollwork. Handing it to his blonde friend, he sat back lazily and spoke, "That is what you should have gotten when you decided to go to this thing."

Opening the envelope, Naruto unsheathed it's contents -a cream colored card with gold scrollwork, the word _Invitation_ pressed into the front. He folded the card flat and began reading, mouthing the words silently to himself.

'_Greetings, dear guest. You have been invited to the party of the century hosted by the one and only Sasuke Uchiha! _(his stomach lurched some) _Following is a list of rules, regulations and details for the engagement. The party will be hosted at club Pandemonium -address on the back of this card. Doors will open promptly at 7pm. Proper attire is encouraged. Festivities begin at 7:30pm, don't be late. Although there will be no alcohol served to minors, a full beverage and buffet table will be open. A full staff of Uchiha guards and attendants will be there to lend service wherever necessary. Fighting, Drug Abuse and Alcohol Abuse will not be prohibited on the premises. Once checked into the party, re-admittance will not be allowed. Enjoy the festivities for the night! Doors officially close at 5am, so bring your dancing shoes! We hope to see you there!'_

Naruto eyed the last line of the invitation some, counting mentally. "Wait… that means this thing lasts for... 10 hours?" he blanked a bit, still staring at the card before another voice chimed in.

"Well, officially yes. They don't expect people to be there after about 4 in the morning. They rented the place out until 7 just so they could clean up after all of the mess." Kiba leaned his head against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"Is that all you guys were doing in here? I could've told you all of that." the brunette grinned, obviously coming in at the end of the conversation.

Naruto shot a harsh look at the Nara -who just gave back a lazy expression and raised an eyebrow- before he glanced up at the brunette in the doorway. "Uh, yeah. We were just talking about how everything's gonna go tonight." the blonde teen smiled cheekily.

Kiba shrugged at glanced over to the wall clock that hung just over the kitchen sink. It read 4:15. "Ah, speaking of that, I need to get ready." He turned and walked out of the room, followed soon after by Naruto and Shikamaru, who resumed their places on the couch. Apparently the game had been changed in their absence, the load screen for Call of Duty displayed on the TV. Kiba ducked into the hallway with his duffle bag in tow and came back 15 minutes later dressed to impress. A tight pair of black and silver leather pants fit snuggly around his hips, held in place by a grommet belt. A black mesh muscle tank stretched across his chest. A black leather cuff hung on one wrist, the opposite adorned with a lime green leather bracelet reading 'VIP' upside down. His hair was gelled in what resembled a loose faux hawk.

Shikamaru tilted his head back at the sound of encroaching footsteps and smirked. "Finally." he nagged.

The brunette grinned a toothy grin and scratched at his temple, walking toward the living room. He unzipped the duffle bag in his hands, letting it plop down on an end table and sifted through the contents. Pulling out several lime green bracelets, he tossed them to their appropriate owners. "Your VIP statuses" he explained after sorting each one to a teen.

Almost as an afterthought, he opened his bag again, pulling out two water bottles of liquid. One looked to be a murky brown color and the other clear as crystal. He dropped them on the coffee table. Before he had a chance to speak, Naruto curiously grabbed up the bottle of clear liquid, unscrewing the cap and sniffing the contents. Sharp fumes infiltrated his sinuses as he wretched his head in the other direction groaning loudly.

"As I was about to say, not water." Kiba laughed and patted his blonde friend's shoulder lightly.

Naruto screwed the cap back on tightly and placed the bottle back on the table, glaring daggers at the teen.

The brunette laughed again, leaning a hand on his hip and pointing with the other.

"That is if you guys want to have a couple drinks before the party. Don't start too early, but getting a little tipsy before you get in will be okay. Don't know if you'll be able to, but if you can manage to sneak one in, be my guest. Guards might confiscate it though." Kiba clapped a hand on the blonde's shoulder again, shaking his head and chuckling lightly.

"Perfect!" Temari squealed, as she snatched up the brown liquid.

Shikamaru grimaced some, but grinned as he turned his head to watch the teen readying himself to leave. The brunette gathered up his duffel bag and gave a few fist bumps before he headed toward the door. "See ya there. And when you get to the line outside, just walk through the doors. VIP's get in early!" he shouted, and waved before he disappeared though the front door.

In the encroaching minutes toward the party, everyone began to get restless. Temari had already polished off nearly half the bottle of liquor with the help of Tenten. Shino and Shikamaru didn't drink anything. Naruto, Choji and Lee all settled to have just a couple light mixed drinks. The blonde felt a little fuzzy, but content, not having had enough to really phase him. A creeping alcohol blush washed over Lee's face, not having drank much if anything before that. Surprisingly, he became even more boisterous with a little alcohol.

Time began rolling in quickly, the clock's all signifying the time to be nearly 6:25. Shikamaru was the first to hustle the group into movement, noting the amount of time it would take to actually get to the club. He and Shino decided to drive, being the sober ones. They separated into two groups and filed into cars, buckling seatbelts as the girls giggled and the guys hyped each other up.

* * *

It was a 25 minute car ride down into the late night district of town. Shikamaru noted the bumper to bumper traffic and flagged Shino down to park a few blocks away. The teens piled out of the cars and onto the sidewalk; laughter and chatter frenzied as they all walked as a group toward the club. Bars and late night venues lined the streets, flickering neon signs enticing visitors in. It wasn't too long before the roar of a long line of teens was within earshot. Scantily clad teen girls huddled in groups with guys. Everyone almost seemed to be in hysterics, energetically waiting for the doors to open.

The group of VIP teens strode past the long line of party goers, Naruto smiling meekly as a few impatient girls scowled at the group. The Nara led the group to the large double doors of the club. A fractured neon sign above the doors reading _Pandemonium_. The doors were rough and dented, open fissures allowing strobe lighting to flicker through.

Two tall, well build bouncers stood outside of the doors, eyeing the teens with stone cold faces. Shikamaru waved the hand to them that wore the lime green cuff, a half smile strewn across his lips. One of the bouncers nodded, pulling a large list of names from a small black book. After asking each teen their identity, he shifted out of the way. The other guard nodded curtly, tilting the handle of a large metal door, creaking it open enough to allow passage.

Smoke poured out through the opening, lasers and strobe lights dancing through. The group gawked as they entered through a chamber to what seemed to be a particularly massive room. The loud thrumming of bass rattled through their feet as the lights danced to the music -a fast paced trance beat. Naruto, Choji and Lee all seemed to mouth a 'Wow' in unison.

Before they could stand to gawk any longer, a petit red haired woman dressed in a tight leather corset and barely-there mini skirt bounced up to the group. Noting the vibrant green bands the group wore, the woman nodded. She smiled a warm, wide smile and inhaled before chattering through a practiced speech. "Welcome to club Pandemonium! We hope you have a wonderful time. Festivities begin at 7:30. (_she motioned to the stage shadowed by a massive screen set up at the far end of the room_) The lower floor is designated for dance and partying. The upper floor (_she motioned toward two winding staircases_) is designated for the buffet area, the lounge area and the VIP rooms. Although there will be no alcoholic beverages served tonight, please feel free to try our large variety of virgin beverages (_she winked_) free of charge. Bathrooms are down that corridor (_she motioned to the far end of the room and the hallway leading beyond it_). Also, please keep smoking outdoors, namely the balcony (_the woman motioned again to the second floor_) just beyond the lounge area." Temari clutched at Shikamaru's hand with that statement, and he sighed lethargically.

"Again, enjoy your night, and thank you for choosing Pandemonium." the red head chirped, lightly touching Choji on the arm as she motioned for the group to continue onward. With that the energetic red haired woman bound away, a wide smile still plastered on her face.

The next half hour seemed to be a rush. Groups of teens sifted through the double doors of the club as the clock hit 7:00pm. Loud, ungodly chatter echoed against the throbbing of a base beat that pulsed through the air. The group of teens had split into a few different groups, moving to check out just what the club had to offer. Naruto's first stop was the DJ booth, looking up to see Kiba through a dark, opaque screen. The brunette waved down to him and pulled out his cell phone, waving it in the air and pointing toward him. A few seconds later, the blonde's hip began to vibrate, signaling a new text message.

He flipped open his phone and read the sentence. _'Glad u made it. Can't talk now. Catch up round 8, k?'_ The blonde responded with a _'k, great.' _and waved toward Kiba before stalking away. The next 20 minutes brought a haze of movement, groups of dancing teens already on the floor. Naruto decidedly made his way toward the stairs to check out the upper level. The first thing that caught his eye was a large lounge setting of dark red couches and low tables with small globe lamps lighting the areas. Beyond that an adjoining area was set up with a well lit buffet tables, towering with different varieties of food. Along side of those were large displays of bottled water, AMP and Red Bull. He noted the large amount of caffeinated beverages and smiled some. It would be necessary to keep a party like this going all night long.

A set of glass doors led out to what looked like a balcony, a cool breeze already wafting into the area. Along the far side of the second floor were a few rooms set up for VIP partiers, a guard standing at each door. Naruto glanced into one of the rooms, noting how much quieter it seemed than the hustle of the rest of the club. The seating arrangements were similar to the lounge area but with a large TV in the corner of the room and a few large beanbag chairs circled around that.

Naruto sighed, noting none of his friends in the room and turned to walk out, checking the time again. It was 7:27. Just a few more minutes and everything would '_get started_' whatever that meant. He leaned over the balcony of the upper deck, watching the continuous movement of the groups down on the floor. There were easily 200 people packed into the area, all moving simultaneously to the thrum of a strong base line.

After another moment, Kiba's voice rang through the speakers. "Alright, we're gonna turn up the heat a little bit. Are you all ready to get this club moving?" A resounding cheer came from all angles to the question. "Alright then, let's get this thing going!" he cried as the lights flickered on toward the stage.

Naruto gazed toward the stage as a group of people slowly edged forward in the darkness. Eight shadowed figures slowly walked out, four set in the back and four in the front. The strobes dimmed somewhat, lasers shooting off near their feet as red and blue overhead lights began to light their features. The figures stepped toward the crowd beginning to form against the stage barricade. They all stood in a similar pose, each wearing a small headset with attached microphone. The blonde's eyes followed down the line of people.

Closest to furthest stood Suigetsu, Karin, Juugo, Ino, Sasuke, Sakura, Sai and Hinata. Sakura, Ino and Hinata all wore a similar outfit. Silver and black halter tops and black shimmering short shorts. Karin wore a silver backless top that wrapped around her midriff to crisscross and tie in the back, a black miniskirt showing off long legs. Suigetsu, Juugo and Sai all wore similar outfits as well. Black solid or striped-with-silver muscle tanks, black denim clinging to their legs. Naruto's eyes then appraised Sasuke's outfit. He wore a devastatingly low cut pair of black denim jeans, a silver and black grommet belt holding them in place. His upper half was adorned with only a fully-unbuttoned button up shirt, sleeves rolled up half way. The chest and stomach that made all of the girls in the in the club drool flexed some as he raised his arms in the air, motioning for everyone to get louder.

And, as they were all beckoned, all of the gay guys, hot-for-Sasuke girls, and gay-for-Sasuke guys chanted wildly.

The Uchiha just quirked his lips at the fandom, glancing to his group and nodding. His soft, sultry voice echoed through the speakers, "We ready?"

Suigetsu smiled and nodded, waving an arm to Kiba in his booth. Without any delay a chime of a gong came over the speakers and began a very familiar beat. The word 'BUTTONS' flashed across the giant screen behind the group before the song broke into a rhythm. Juugo stepped into the light, with the first lyric of the song, precise and deep, "What it do, baby boo?" A collective chatter of 'oh my god!' echoed through the dance hall as the tall, blonde teen broke into the rap. Every other dancer followed into a unified movement with their partner. The swaying and moving of hips against each other, jerking as the rhythm deepened and each dancer only had the other in mind. The mingling was sultry and practiced.

As Juugo's rap came to a close, each girl began in on the chorus and sang against the guys until Karin's voice broke through with the first leg of the song. She played a dangerous game of push and pull against Suigetsu, who's face was caught in a large grin. Her hips shimmied as she looped a thumb through upper rim of her skirt, shifting from side to side. The light haired teen before her pulled in, dancing dangerously close. The silver haired teen bit slightly on his lower lip as he traced hands across her form. She pushed him away playfully. Karin wagged her finger from side to side and stepped to the front of the stage with the other three girls as the second leg of chorus hit. All four shifted their hips from side to side, arms in the air in a tight circular movement. Shoulders swayed as they traced hands down themselves and bent forward with a twist. Karin began into the second leg of lyrics, again pulling Suigetsu toward her, allowing for his hands to roam more. The movements continued until the third bout of chorus began and the girls all shifted together; this time running their hands across each other, dancing together in the movements.

Instead of Juugo falling into the second bout of rap, Suigetsu stepped forward, dancing with the girls. Each girl paid special attention to lightly run a hand over him as lyrics poured from his lips, taking turns dancing with him. The next chorus rang in again and the girls fell back to their partners. Each girl teased each guy with swift telling movements.

To say the crowd was in awe would be the biggest understatement of history. Every girl and guy gawked open mouthed toward the stage, mesmerized as much by the spot-on voices and lyrics as the seductive dance scene that played in front of their eyes. Even Naruto couldn't help but watch slack jawed at the scene. He vaguely recalled secretly watching the group rehearse dancing the day before, but it hadn't been anything like that. The crowd that had hushed as the song went on, suddenly erupted into a roar of cheers as the song came to a close. They shouted for more, and after a moment realized they weren't to be disappointed.

The next song that sounded from the speakers brought all the girls screaming. 'RUN IT' flashed.

Juugo introduced the rap again, falling into rhythm as the first length of lyrics began. Surprisingly, Sai was the one to take the stage next, his normally quiet demeanor breaking in two at the first roll of his hips. The four female dancers fell into the background, movements limited and barely seen. It was the guys' song. Every girl in the room screamed in awe as Sai's voice rang over the speakers. His shoulders swayed from side to side, head bobbing and hips popping to the beat of the music. The other three guys grinned at each other, mimicking his movements, shoulders and hips rocking back and forth. After a few minutes of crazed movement, Juugo took in the second length of the rap as the dance continued. He lifted the corner of his shirt with a thumb, testing the crowd. As the black material edged up over well toned abs, the cry was deafening. Girls threw their arms in the air, screaming for more. Guys shouted toward the stage, encouraging the song to continue.

The song kept up for a few moments before it quieted into the lull of screaming teens. The main event finally came up. "Alright, we're gonna bring it in! This is the 18th birthday of one of the hottest young men to grace this club. Give it up for him ladies! Sasuke Uchiha!" Kiba's voice rang over the speakers as the raven haired teen stepped forward on the stage, the others sinking toward the shadows. The crowd erupted into yet another bout of bellowing screams. Sasuke just smiled, his lips pulled up at the corners as he raised his hands into the air.

In the most seductive voice to hit anyone's ears, the teen spoke, "Okay, I'm only going to ask one time." He paused, bringing the crowd to a more hushed hysteric. "What's my name?"

In a roar and cry nearly everyone from the crowd chanted _'SASUKE!'_

With that, the Uchiha motioned toward Kiba, who hit the switch and began a quickened rhythm over the speakers. The word 'TONIGHT' flashed across the back screen and Sasuke began a sway in his hips that enveloped the entire crowd in his performance. An elongated "Youuuuu" began the song before the raven haired teen began singing, motioning toward the crowd. "I know you want me. I made it obvious that I want you too…" He drew a hand against his bare stomach and chest, chanting the words to the crowd. Lyrics poured from his lips, warm and velvety. And then the throng roared the loudest it had the entire night.

"…Please excuse me, I don't mean to be rude. But tonight I'm _fucking_ you." came the sultry singsong voice.

Sasuke pointed out toward the crowd, his shoulders rolling down into his chest, which in turn rolled down into his hips with a sharp snap. The rough thrust into the air brought it's own screams and he continued the song with a smirk. The chorus itself drew a few degrees of warmth to the air. Chanting, screaming, jumping and dancing filled the crowd.

Suigetsu stepped in beside him from the darkness, taking over _Ludacris'_ short rap. He leaned down to the crowd, almost touching a few girls' hands. They reached for him with all they could muster, Uchiha guards holding the barricades steady in the face of the monstrous roar of fans. The lyrics were sharp and swift as he grinned into the faces of a few excited teens. But before they could revel in his serenade, Sasuke took over again, grinning wildly at the throng of teens excitedly screaming toward him.

As the last lyrics left his lips, he trailed a hand down his chest toward his navel, giving a small grin, his lips parted just barely.

Naruto found himself leaning dangerously over the banister of the second floor. His lips parted, gawking at the raven haired teen. His heart thrummed loudly in his chest as his wide, blue eyes followed the liquid movements. Strong, achingly smooth muscles rippled underneath the open shirt. The blonde's eyes followed the dangerous movements of the teens shoulders and hips. His voice was strong but amazingly silky. He couldn't help but marvel at the precision of every movement, every strong word sung in a bedtime voice that he was sure no-one had heard before.

The blonde hadn't realized, but his breath had become a soft pant, his knuckles white from gripping the banister so tightly. He watched as Sasuke began to walk off stage and Kiba started up a new set of songs. The entire troop of dancers exited the stage. A voice echoed over the speakers. "Hot right? We're gonna keep it moving in here."

After a moment more of staring at the raven haired teen, he loosened his grip on the banister. The crowd of people began to move back into a dancing frenzy. Naruto watched as guards escorted Sasuke up the nearest flight of stairs and toward the VIP rooms of the upper balcony. His eyes followed each movement of the Uchiha closely. Even in his strong gait, he was mildly seductive. The blonde's eyes narrowed on Sasuke as he passed.

A blush greeted his features as he realized Sasuke had paused for just a moment, eyes traveling down the length of Naruto's frame. The Uchiha's eyes followed the teens body back up from his feet, pausing some near his stomach and chest, before narrowing dark eyes on blue ones. Sasuke was the first to break the stare, his expression impassive as he continued on into the VIP lounge.

The blonde's eyes were wide as his line of sight followed Sasuke toward the room, heart frantic in his chest. In that moment his fogged mind remembered what Shikamaru had asked just hours before. _Just who are you trying to impress?_

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Author-ess: Yippee! Okay, so I wasn't expecting this chappie to be twice the length of the last one... Oops? haha. Um, lets see... for notes... Yes, a new Mortal Kombat is fabled to release this April, cool right? Seems as though Shika (being the most attention oriented of the group) is beginning to understand something that even Naruto doesn't. Alright, so writing out a 3 minute long song in detail without actually quoting every line of the song the whole way is mildly more difficult than I first thought. If ya have any ideas on how to adjust things, feel free to PM me. And I know, this chap. was more about Naruto than Sasuke. I promise I'll turn the attention the other way in the next chap. Until then love love love! Ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4

Author-ess: Hey hey hey! First off, HUGE, MASSIVE, GIGANTEROUS HUGS for everybody that's been keeping up with these shenanigans. I loves me some reviews, and now that I've finally gotten some free time around work, I'm typing away. Soooo, I've been mulling over the idea in my head. One of my lovely reviewers showed enthusiasm for other yaoi pairings… well, I'd love to oblige. And what better way than writing exactly what YOU want. So, we're gonna have ourselves a little contest. I'll open it up between this chapter and the next chapter, so It'll be about a week (pending I'm able to write). Based solely on my writing style and my profile bio, **_How old am I?_** It should be such a simple question… however there's a bit of debate in general. The winner(s) of said competition will get to choose their very own yaoi pairing, situation/circumstance etc. -and I will write it to the best of my ability. PM me with your answer to the question [you only get one shot, no do-overs] On with the show ...and... WE'RE OFF!

Disclaimer: I don't own a damn thaaaang.

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"As you wish, Mr. Uchiha."

With that, an expressionless, emotionless suit silently stalked out of the quiet room, leaving the attended alone. They were so good at following orders, Sasuke mused to himself.

He sat down on a large red lounge couch, hearing the slight creak as he shifted his weight to get comfortable. Another tall glass of champagne bubbled quietly in his hand. In truth, it had been his third glass that night, having had two before the performance to quiet even the slight tingle of his nerves. He'd never openly admit to being nervous of anything. But as the alcohol reached his system, Sasuke began to feel more and more loose, comfortable with himself.

Honestly, he felt magnificent. So far his birthday had gone astonishingly well. The club was packed tight within the first half hour of opening. His dance group's performance had gone off without a hitch. The adrenaline that seemed to be mainlining through his veins was still rushing about.

The Uchiha leaned his head back after taking another sip of his beverage, recalling the events so far. It was exhilarating to perform in front of so many people, even more so to be received so well. Everyone cheered and screamed for him, he was the center of attention. Just as well, if there was any day of the year that being the center of attention was alright, it was this day, his birthday. There had been so many faces with wide eyes, obviously drinking in his good looks.

His thoughts wandered back to the last person he'd seen before he secluded himself to the quiet lounge… the blonde energy ball. Whether he'd realized it or not, Naruto had been staring. The teen's bright blue eyes were wide as dinner plates, following Sasuke's every movement.

The raven haired teen sighed audibly. He didn't know whether it was the loss of inhibition due to the celebration, or the alcohol churning wildly through his veins, but he had to admit, the idiot had looked good. Those clothes seemed to fit him in just the right places.

Shaking the thoughts away, Sasuke downed another mouthful of champagne and opened his eyes to the ceiling. _Nine and a half more hours._ He thought to himself. It was going to be a very long and interesting night. He lulled into a comfortable silence, letting the light thrum of bass tingle through the furniture into his skin.

The door to the lounge area swung open roughly, shattering the peace and quiet with angry bickering. Sasuke tilted his head toward the couple, giving his best scowl to encourage them to either leave or shut up. _A very long night…_ They did neither. Suigetsu heaved a long, airy sigh and threw a hand up, the other wrapped comfortably around Karin, regardless of the incessant bickering.

"Oh you knew exactly what you were doing!" He accused with a growl.

The response was a giggle and a light punch in the arm, to which he growled again and rubbed the offended area.

"Oh you love it!" Karin replied lightly.

"_Love_ getting damn near _molested_ right on stage? In front of _all_ of those people?" He nearly growled a second time. Again the response was a giggle as the red head waved a hand, dismissing the thought.

Suigetsu tried to scowl, but it ended to be a tense grin. He hushed his tone some, whispering as he pushed his girlfriend down on to the closest seat. Leaning over her, arms to either side of her head, he began, "Oh _you'll_ love it when I get you home an…" but a rough cough interrupted.

They turned their heads in unison toward the noise, both seeming to gather an awkward, sheepish expression as they realized just who had been listening.

"Oh, Sasuke…" the redhead began nervously.

Nearly inhaling the rest of his champagne, the Uchiha placed the tall glace down on the table and stood. He worked to firmly set his indifferent mask in place, fighting off the urge to gag at the thought of his friends doing _anything_ at home. After a short moment of collecting himself, he turned toward the door, stalking out and throwing a "Oh no, don't stop on my account." over his shoulder.

After the door swung closed behind him, he let out a visible shudder, shaking the thought from his mind.

Sasuke very sedately walked toward the balcony of the second floor, gazing out over the mass of people. Glancing down at his phone, he noted the time to be 8:07. Clearly the party was raging on without him. The Uchiha could vaguely distinguish the group of girls dancing closely around Sakura, Ino and Hinata, who were animatedly moving to the swift techno beat dulling every sense. He already knew what Suigetsu and Karin were up to. The few left of his friends were Juugo and Sai. The raven haired teen chose not to think of the latter.

Things were no less awkward between them since the last rehearsal. In fact, if it were at all possible, things had gotten worse. Sai absolutely refused to speak to him, but eyed Sasuke like a hawk whenever possible. Always with the same expression, too. He just looked disappointed, dejected. So naturally, the best thing to do was to entirely ignore the problem. It wasn't Sasuke's fault, and he refused to be the first one to talk. There was just too much pride involved with that guy.

Further examination brought the Uchiha's eyes down to near dead center of the dance floor where an energetic blonde, a brunette with a faux hawk and a black bowl cut seemed to congregate. The teen with the bowl cut was shaking and strutting very... obnoxiously to the music, but obviously just a few beats behind. Sasuke's brow furrowed as he narrowed his eyes on the group.

* * *

"So this seems like a good gig. Getting to go to party's like this all the time." Naruto shouted over the music toward Kiba.

The two bobbed somewhat to the beat of the music, choosing to ignore Lee's wild movements. It was mildly surprising that the teen hadn't actually hit somebody yet with the way he waved his arms.

"Fun as hell! And I get to choose whatever music I want to play, within reason of course." the brunette replied.

"Damn, anything you want?"

"Yeah. There are some things I just don't touch for gigs like this, but pretty much anything." Kiba shot back with a grin.

For a moment it looked as though Naruto had completely lapsed out of the conversation, but pulled back in with a wide grin. He leaned in toward Kiba, whispering something into his ear. Still, his Cheshire grin in place as he motioned toward the DJ booth. The brunette pursed his lips in thought for a while and then shrugged.

"Yeah, okay." was the response as Kiba slipped between people and bound up to the DJ area. After a moment of searching through files he came to the song in question and set it into motion.

_Uhn tiss uhn tiss uhn tiss baby…_

The blonde slapped his thigh in delight, face growing into an even wider grin as a broken techno beat overwhelmed the speakers. Kiba bound back toward the group, a triumphant expression in place. Even Lee paused in his antics as he thought about the song and began to chuckle.

"I LOVE THE BLOODHOUND GANG!" the blonde cried excitedly.

After a moment of glancing toward each other they all broke into dance simultaneously. Albeit, none of the dances being quiet adequate for public viewing. Kiba and Naruto mouthed the words, singing along as they... defiled the air.

* * *

Sasuke pressed his lips together, brow furrowed even deeper as he watched the display of obvious male testosterone. He didn't know whether he wanted to scowl his worst ever or grin like a mad man. The trio seemed to be having fun, at least. At the point that both the blonde and bowl cut visibly waggled their eyebrows at each other, the Uchiha settled to just gawk at the teens.

"POWER THRUST OF YOUTH!" the disturbing cry was followed by an even more disturbing projectile set of hips. Sasuke's lip quirked just a little as he gave a very uncharacteristic half grunt-half chuckle.

Of course, as the song continued into motion, the dance floor was a flurry of movement and noise. Those three weren't the only ones to be so suggestive. Sasuke even found himself bobbing some to the oddly entrancing, bold song.

As the song rounded off and lapsed into a familiar Paul Van Dyke club hit, everyone moved back to swift trance motion. The trio of teens on the floor continued to dance, loosing the provocative manner of movement and settling to a collective sway and bob. He watched the partiers until movement from the other side of the dance floor caught his eye.

Sai and Juugo slowly made their way up to the three. The closest thing to a scowl was set on the dark haired teen's face. Someone was _not_ happy.

"And just what was _that_?" an irritated snap caught the group off guard, and Kiba stopped his movement, crossing his arms over his chest to the intrusion. Lee and Naruto stopped cold, the latter awkwardly gaping at the angry teen.

"You know the schedule, Inuzuka." Sai begrudgingly continued, "Half dance, half trance. And that was certainly not trance. I don't even know what _that_ was!"

Kiba huffed quietly, nodding in understanding. He opened his mouth to reply in an apology before Naruto broke into the conversation.

"Hey! That was The Bloodhound Gang, and they are pretty damn awesome!"

Sai snorted and crossed his arms, directing his icy glare at the blonde. "That was garbage."

To that Naruto took deep offense, raising his voice as he did so. "They're awesome, and everybody was enjoying it until YOU had to ruin the mood! Everyone was dancing, right?"

"That was hardly dancing; least of all coming from you."

"I can SO dance! I'll dance circles around you!"

Somehow in the interference Kiba had snuck back to the DJ booth, quieting the music some before he grabbed a turntable and gave it a few jerks, silencing both the music and the crowd.

"Alright alright! I see a challenge coming our way. You think you can dance? Well lets get it on!" he spoke into the microphone.

Naruto paled some, his eyes going wide to his friend. His wide eyes then turned to Sai and Juugo. The cocky smile that greeted him from both spelled nothing but trouble.

A slow taunting rhythm echoed over the speakers as the music began to flow loudly again.

_This is why I'm hot. This is why I'm hot. This is why-this is why-this is why I'm hot. _

Naruto's eyes grew wider as Sai backed up in a few swift moves as he and Juugo broke into a stretch of opposing moves -snapping their shoulders together, two stepping to the side -into a shallow slide across the ground in the opposite direction. Sai lurched forward, roughly abusing the personal space bubble separating him from Naruto.

The blonde's eyes narrowed, his body frozen in place. Lee jumped to his aid, lightly tapping his arm as he motioned for him to follow. Surprisingly, the bowl-cut teen knew some good moves. Naruto mimicked the hip pop and arm snap. He was almost a mirror image in a slow motion round house kick that slid into a shoulder roll forward -extending an arm forward to the duo in front of them. In unison they flicked their fingers, motioning for the challengers to come at them.

Sai's eyes smoldered; he was NOT to be shown up.

By that time, a small crowd had formed around the group, eyes watching every move intently. Even Sasuke's eyes were closely following the movement of the challenge. He already knew the outcome, it didn't take a neurosurgeon to know how this was going to end.

Sai and Juugo exchanged glances. Suddenly this was serious. They nodded in unison and gathered together, pulling themselves by invisible strings up to their toes -seemingly defying gravity. A sudden spin caused the two to exchange places, motioning toward each other. A few swift arm thrust and full body rolls later, Juugo, shot his eyes to the competition, tossing an invisible item back to them.

Naruto looked over to Lee, who had a full-on grin plastered to his face. The bowl-cut teen simply outstretched his arm and caught said object. He rolled it back into his shoulders, spinning in full before popping his chest toward Naruto, who caught the hint and popped back. He slumped down, rolling his arms (just as he'd seen in the video's the night prior) and tested another move he hadn't been too sure of. After the last roll left his fingertips, it rolled back in, causing a wave in his shoulders until the it hit the opposite hand. As those fingers curled up, he suddenly stretched his arm out back over his head, bending somewhat like a gymnast in one liquid movement. Force from his legs pushed him up into a roll and without a moment's notice, he was upright on one hand. Suddenly he was very, very grateful for the martial art's lessons he'd participated in with Guy and Lee. After a moment upside down, he grinned stupidly to his competition, and let himself down in another liquid movement.

The crowd broke out into a ferocious cheer, everyone backing up a few feet for respectful space.

Sai scowled and Juugo finally began to grin. This was much more amusing than standing off in the corner.

With that, the dark haired teen made a few robotic movements closer to Juugo, breaking into a full moon-walk. His feet seemed to leave the ground and then actually did as he flipped on to both hands. He made a slow spin with his legs at Juugo, who caught on and dipped backward. The light haired teen rolled back to be nearly parallel to the floor and then rolled back up, snapping back to position. He threw an arm across Sai's body, causing the teen to bend his legs back to the floor and suddenly they were both standing, smirking at the watching pair.

_Oh, we'll fight…_ Naruto thought to himself. A smirk had worked it's way to his face without his knowing.

He and Lee engaged in a mach battle. The latter threw a high aimed kick toward the blonde, who bent backward and rolled back and on to his feet. He lurched forward, throwing an arm into what became the air space over the bowl-cut teen. Another, lower aimed kick pushed the dark haired teen even further down, within a couple feet of the floor. Naruto smirked down at Lee, who was full force grinning back. The blonde then shot his eyes back up to the competing duo, raising his hand over the teen still bent backward. Slowly his hand ghosted up and down, the body beneath following through the air.

After a few moments of being pulled by invisible strings, the blonde teen waved his hand and Lee came back to standing on his feet. Another cheer broke the air.

Alright, Sasuke was intrigued now. Perhaps the outcome wasn't entirely set in stone.

Sai and Juugo answered back with a few swift movements, sending the two rocking and leaping back and forth. The tall blonde teen fell backward into a roll, to stand and then roll back again, hands planted firmly on the ground as his back arched in what looked like the most uncomfortable position to have ever existed. Sai finished off the dance with a flip backward to the side of the teen and then managed to flip sideways with little to no momentum. He barely landed to the side of the other, before Juugo rolled out of the arch and back to his feet.

All eyes were on back on blondie and bowl-cut. They weren't to be disappointed.

Naruto and Lee glanced at each other and nodded. They rocked into a few unified movements, then broke apart in a few sways directed toward the viewing eyes. Lee popped back and forth like a robot and Naruto ghosted him, rocking and swaying like a smooth shadow. They bobbed into a single movement and then in unison, flipped backwards -no hands. They stuck the landing. Slowly, they shimmied their shoulders and slid back up toward Sai and Juugo. The blonde outstretched an arm, and snapped his fingers directly in Sai's face, breaking the personal space bubble well in place.

The song came to a close and the crowd erupted into a massive cheer.

"And that's how it's done!" Kiba roared through the speakers. The DJ tables were spun quickly into a new song, slipping back into a techno rhythm.

At that point, Sai looked furious, Juugo just grinned, Naruto and Lee cheered at each other, the entire crowd cheered for them and Sasuke's brows were both very far up his forehead. That was in no way expected.

He watched the commotion down on the floor as Sakura led her group through the throng to the dancing duo. There were the obvious exclamations and exchanges. The pinkette was probably congratulating the couple. Another exchange occurred before Sai became even more angry. The dark haired teen pushed to within a few inches of Naruto, glaring daggers at the boy. Juugo reached for the teen, gently resting a hand on his shoulder when a soft monotone droned into their ears.

Sasuke had pressed a secondary communication button on his headset. Only the other receivers heard.

"_Enough. Let it go, Sai_."

The dancers' eyes shot up, looking hastily around until Sakura finally spotted the raven haired teen up on the second floor balcony. She waved quickly to the Uchiha before she pressed a corresponding button.

"_I was telling Naruto how well they did. I thought it would be great if they joined the club!_" she chirped.

Sasuke didn't bother to press the button on his headset. He 'Hn'd to himself and straightened, receding from the balcony and out of sight. The pink haired girl chirped on excitedly to Naruto and Lee. Sai's eyes rested where the raven haired teen was last, his expression again downcast.

* * *

Bringing his thoughts with him, Sasuke removed himself from the cheer, noise and confusion -outside on the balcony. That seemed like the safest place to spend some time with himself. The music was still in an audible range, but there wasn't the close proximity of others that promised drama.

Again, the Uchiha lulled himself into a quiet contentment. Still moving some to the rhythm of the music, he let the cool night breeze envelop him. He truly enjoyed this. Not needing to worry about his regular life, he was washed away into this blissful seemingly unending party.

The echo of light footfalls encroached behind him.

_Wrong again_…

Sasuke sighed inwardly, readying his stoic mask as he leaned over the outer banister of the balcony. The intruder stopped just short of his peripheral vision, making no noise. Turning his head some toward his company, he was relieved to see the blur of nearly grey hair and thin frame -his best friend.

As if answering an unasked question, Suigetsu took the last few steps toward the raven haired teen and lightly began to speak, "You know, the party's actually back in there." He motioned with a thumb back over his shoulder.

The Uchiha didn't bother to scowl. He merely lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug and continued staring off in silence.

"Look, I know it's none of my business…" the light haired teen began again.

_But you're going to say it anyway_.

"But Sai keeps asking about you. He wants to know why you keep toying with him like this. He really does like you, ya know?"

_Hn. Wouldn't have guessed. Couldn't fathom why_.

Having grown accustomed to the silent answers from his companion, Suigetsu continued all the same. "It's just hard to see him like this. He's confused and he doesn't know what to do. And as much as you're my best friend and all. You're kinda acting like… well, you're acting like a schmuck."

At that the Uchiha actually tuned in, turning his face toward his friend, both brows raised in a what-the-hell-are-you-going-on-about expression.

The other teen just smirked, exhaling in a chuckle.

"Look, man. I know you're just going with the flow and doing what you feel is right. But ya gotta think about this. As much as you don't think so, you're kinda leading him on." The teen paused, but lightly touched Sasuke's shoulder with a warmer grin. "Do what you want to, but please, for all of our sakes, just choose."

With that and another encouraging squeeze to Sasuke's shoulder, the light haired teen walked away. Just before he left the balcony area, he spun around and called out to his friend, "Oh! And get your ass down there. Someone needs to show these kids how to dance!" He chuckled and disappeared through the doors.

The Uchiha sighed aloud. _So much for calm and peaceful_.

Gathering up his thoughts and pushing them aside, Sasuke decided against his better judgment to turn around and rejoin the cluster-fuck that had become his 18th birthday party. He was greeted by cheering and the loud thrum of bass. The raven haired teen pulled out his phone, noting the time at 8:34, and then noticed that he'd missed a text message. He tapped open the screen and scowled at the name that invaded his inbox. Three texts from Sai.

With another brief scowl, he threw his phone back in his pocket, grabbed a bottle of water and moved to languidly stalk down the closest spiral staircase leading down to the dance floor.

.

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Author-ess: YES. Okay, so here are some notes. Yep, plot-holes. If It mattered that much, I'd go into depth where Lee learned to dance (told ya he'd get even more open with a lil alcohol) and go into depth about Guy sensei, Lee and Naruto's martial arts lessons. BUT, it's not important for the purpose of the story. So ya, deal :3 The whole dance-off thing was voted for in muh current poll. You wanted it, so there it is. Things will speed up in the next chapter, no it's not going to be a play-by-play of the whole night -Even I'd fall asleep reading. OH! and don't forget about my contest! PM me to get your very own story! (details in first A/N this chap) I always love an interesting idea. Questions, qualms, concerns? Hit me up! Love-Love-Love!


	5. Chapter 5

Author-ess: Yet another chapter done. Been trying really hard to get them out regularly. But shit, it's rough. I've seriously gotten 12 hours of sleep in the last 5 days. So, as an aside, this chapter will close a door, the next will throw one right-the-fuck-open!

Awkward Turtle: Jesus Hana, can you make this any more drama-filled & mean?

Me: Probably... let's see. Blah blah blah... enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own not a damn thing. Not. A. Damn. Thing.

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Time lapse- 11:26pm

* * *

It was as though time seemed to rush ahead -full force with no inhibitions. Every body on the floor was in a full on frenzy, the music driving each person to their breaking point. Undoubtedly the tables on the second floor had needed to be restocked with many more beverages. The heaving commotion caused the air in the club to thicken, warm and musty with the flavors of hundreds of bodies closely compacted.

Blonde hair and blue eyes thrashed wildly. He hadn't noticed, but with the constriction of space from so many people in such a small area, he'd grown closer and closer to a certain bowl-cut haired teen. They danced frivolously, grins wide and bodies flowing with the heavy ear-rattling bass. Continuous and persistent movement brought the two achingly close, to the point of breathing in each other's exhaled breaths. The blonde was the first to realize just how close they were, his head and heart seeming to race just a bit faster. Was it odd to be this comfortable dancing like this with another guy? His cheeks tinged even more than from the exhaustion of dance.

It was difficult now not to notice how their animated movement caused heated skin to brush together on occasion. Naruto didn't mind it, per say- until the boisterous bowl-cut's hand lightly passed over his arm. _Oh yeah… that was weird… I think_. He found himself trying to back himself up in movements, creating some breathable airspace between the two -to no avail, of course.

Careful not to let the very confusing thought creep into his expression, he gave a sidelong glance toward the bar area and jerked his head toward it when Lee caught his eyes. The song began to close, and the other teen smiled widely toward him. Both flushed and exhausted from hours of endless dance, they agreed silently and sidestepped through the crowd to make their way to refreshments.

It certainly wasn't surprising to see the lazy Nara slouched on a bar stool, sipping something that was very brightly colored with a very animated Temari chattering happily to his side.

_Ah, at least that's something normal_… the blonde thought wryly, his expression shifting to a big grin.

Tenten waved happily at the duo approaching and the immediate company glanced toward them as well. Shikamaru seemed to be even less thrilled than possible, a few strands of hair falling into his face from actually having moved around on the floor. Lee's voice was heard asking the bartender for a couple bottled waters.

Regular conversation resumed, Temari and Tenten laughing loudly at an inside joke as Shikamaru sipped at his frosty lime-green cocktail. A cold wave hit Naruto's neck, causing him to jerk away roughly, a less than manly 'eeep' having been emitted. The group chuckled, and Lee appeared at his side, offering the offending bottled water to the blonde. Shika raised an eyebrow and threw Naruto a looks-like-something-interesting-is-going-on glance.

The blonde simply took the water bottle with a sheepish grin and unscrewed the cap, mouthing a muffled thanks as he gulped down all but a quarter of the bottle's contents.

"Oh, that's _good_." he murmured to himself.

Tenten threw an arm over her head and beckoned the bartender over. She murmured something to him, to which he disappeared and then reappeared with several bottled beverages. Five small blue glass bottles filled with clear liquid lined the counter and Tenten presented them with a happy grin.

"Alright, drink up!" she stated, grabbing up a bottle herself and jerking the cap off. She threw down the carbonated beverage in a few small gulps and slammed the bottle back down on the counter.

Temari quickly mimicked the action, as did Lee, who apparently didn't care what he partook in that night. Naruto picked up his bottle warily. The small bottle had the words 'Bawls guarana' scrawled across the front in white. That was mildly off-putting. Shikamaru gingerly picked up his bottle and grimaced at the title.

Although he knew exactly how it would be interpreted, the brunette spoke anyway, "Uh.. _Bawls_?"

A chorus of stifled laughs sounded from the group; Temari even snorted, covering her mouth abruptly to keep the snickering from seeping through. She lightly placed a hand on the Nara's knee and replied, "It's an energy drink. And you need one -so drink."

"Yeah! Let's get back on the floor!" Tenten was quick to cut in, throwing an arm in the air. The bowl-cut haired teen followed her action, animatedly heaving his arms in the air as well.

Naruto fought the urge to groan in protest, cracked the metal cap off his drink, and chugged it down fast. The lemon-lime taste caught him by surprise. It was much more agreeable than the Red Bull he'd had earlier.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow again at the bottle, willing it to disappear. It didn't, and the brunette was left with little other choice, simply pursing his lips as he threw off the cap. Tenten sighed dramatically at the length of time it took the Nara to finish, and urged everyone forward to the dance floor after he finally swallowed the last of the drink.

The lazy brunette paired off with Temari, slouching down into position with her. It was very surprising to see the two actually dance. Naruto mentally made note to poke fun at his friend later about the whole ordeal. But there they were now as the trance music lulled to a halt and a very familiar radio hit came on.

The Nara slunk down, arms wrapped loosely around his girlfriend. He stepped in so his legs alternated with hers and they moved ever closer together. It almost seemed inappropriate to watch the two. Obviously Shikamaru intended to move as little as possible, bobbing and something akin to grinding with the blonde now wrapped tightly in his embrace. And they quickly lost all air space between them. Hips and lips met, straining against each other.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. _Oh for the love of_…

Alright, it was time to look away… and there was Tenten. Yes, Tenten, dancing wildly and seeming to enjoy every beat that echoed into the room. That was more like it.

The blonde teen made his way toward her, grinning and matching her movements in dance. They silently agreed to go at it together, eyes meeting and the exchange of nothing more than a smile.

* * *

Sasuke's brow furrowed even more, concentrating far too hard on understanding the conversation that had diverted his attention for nearly the last hour and a half. Secluded in a quiet VIP room, he, Gaara and Neji were having the most convoluted discussion ever. Both teens in question were very animated… and uncouth. That in itself was extremely disconcerting.

The two wore matching smiles, casually chatting about things ranging from nothing in particular to politics and foreign relations. However, their body language was the most confusing portion of the conversation. Regardless of the topic, they both sat in the same positions. Gaara was outstretched on one of the lounge sofas, resting into the cushion behind him. Neji laid with his head sitting in the other's lap. Their hands kept moving, almost disturbingly so.

One of the Hyuga's hands was lost under the other teen's shirt, obviously stretching out and teasing the tensed skin beneath. Gaara's hands weft through the brunette's long hair, idly tracing and entwining strands between fingers. Their bodies were lost to the sensations, and again, grinning like mad men.

This was much more than just disconcerting. It was terribly distracting. As much as their topics of discussion were very tantalizing to the mind, their physical openness and disregard for exactly what they were doing to each other -coupled with smiles that were _extremely_ uncharacteristic of the duo, was throwing the raven haired teen off.

He couldn't leave the discussion, as his was an avid part, but _good-unholy-god_ was this making him uncomfortable. Sasuke chanced asking the aforementioned question, aching to know, "So… what's up with you two? With all the… touching. …and the smiling." He cursed himself mentally for not knowing to leave well enough alone as soon as the words left his lips.

Gaara's response was to just smile wider, as if it were possible. He drew a hand away from the nest of hair in his lap and reached into his pant pocket. Withdrawing a small blue and white vile, he threw the container toward the Uchiha, not bothering to aim the projectile.

Out of reflex, Sasuke jumped up to grab the bottle. He frowned and popped off the top, dumping some of the contents out into his palm. Out skittered a rainbow of colored pills, all identical in size and shape. The only distinction between them were two different symbols. Some of the pills bore a smiley face, the others bore a small symbol similar to the Mitsubishi logo.

He quirked an eyebrow.

"What are…" the raven haired teen began, but Neji answered the question with a statement of his own.

"Drink a lot of water, you'll get dehydrated. And watch out for the Mitsubishi. It'll make you go _fast_."

Gaara laughed aloud, shaking his head in what seemed to be pure amusement. The image and sound of the teen laughing made Sasuke cringe a bit. _Eh… disturbing_.

He placed the vial down on the low table in front of the two, taking that as his cue to escape. He stalked toward the door, frowning, and before he left threw a "Just don't kill yourselves." to the air. To that both of the normally uncaring teens laughed. It was the most troubling thing he'd heard all night, and it took a lot of effort not to cringe at the sound.

Sasuke's thoughts were lost again as a bubbly pink haired teen came bounding up to him. Decidedly, he ignored most of her excited chirping, choosing to just nod and agree. Suddenly her hand had latched around his wrist, tugging him along behind herself. Unfortunately, he'd agreed to follow her down to the dance floor, gathering that she had been worried and looking for him. Without another thought, she descended the staircase with the raven haired teen in tow and dragged him out to near center of the room.

The eyes that followed their movements were not lost on him, and Sakura obviously noticed the stray glances they received, leaning against the Uchiha in a very familiar manner. He knew that this was all just a great popularity game to her; that was probably the reason he didn't immediately throw her off his arm, but it was still rather irritating that he was to be used in such a way. The pinkette would literally benefit nothing from interacting with him besides good publicity. She already knew that he wasn't interested in the least.

Sasuke agreed to just one dance -clearly the alcohol was tweaking his better judgment. He followed the excited girl out to where she was best seen dancing, and followed in step. The raven haired teen cringed inwardly every time the other would place a well practiced hand across his shoulders or chest. He couldn't help even just the slight frown that turned down the corners of his lips at the close proximity of the dance. They'd done this before, rehearsed different dances together -ones that had been even closer, more provocative.

But this was just a bit too far out of his comfort zone. None of this was practiced, none of this was planned. Sasuke hated surprises with a fervent passion. He steadied his breathing, cursing himself for even the thought of something this absurd.

Then suddenly, none to gracefully, Sasuke was jostled from behind. He turned the encroaching scowl on whomever had caused his interaction with the pinkette to come even closer, bumping into the girl roughly. Sakura smiled it off, trying to regain the raven haired teen's attention, but he wasn't having any of it.

With his best irritated scowl he turned to the offender, threatening a narrow glare. He was surprised to see a familiar black bowl-cut bobbing up and down, a cheeky grin under massive unearthly eyebrows and intense wide eyes staring right back at him. For a moment, the Uchiha had lost his words. Apparently that moment was just long enough for the teen to sputter an apology and motion swiftly back into his comfortable crowd.

Dark, irritated eyes followed the teen warily until he disappeared behind a few couples. One of which was dancing so closely and in pace with the music, they could almost be compared to his own two friends, Suigetsu and Karin. But neither was as familiar. He could recognize the Nara from the sharp ponytail sticking out from the back of his head, and knew Temari through Gaara. They seemed quite wrapped up in each other.

His eyes then narrowed on the other set of people, one of which had captured his sights earlier in the night. That certain blonde was effortlessly dancing away with a small brunette girl -to whom Sasuke just couldn't put a name to.

The Uchiha moved back into the dance with his captor, pushing his impassive expression back into place. However, he couldn't help that his eyes seemed to wander without his acknowledgement. They passed back over the form of a blonde teen clad in black with unruly blonde hair dancing very closely to the same small brunette girl. It had become blaringly obvious that the teen could dance _against_ others, sporting his competitive nature, but close quarters dancing was something entirely different.

Naruto's hands tentatively hovered around the small girl; respectful air space left several inches between them. His body leaned from side to side and popped and rolled, but the lingering space between the two remained no matter how much they seemed to loose themselves to the motions.

Sasuke's curiosity peaked as he watched an unwavering switch off, casual movement brought a different light to the blonde.

Lee, wanting a dance partner, strode up with the two. Again, another unspoken exchange occurred as the bowl-cut teen glanced down to Tenten and the girl backed away, still happily swaying to the bass rhythm. Naruto, completely unaware of the exchange, being that his eyes were nearly entirely closed, just continued to dance. The exuberant brunette fell into pace with him, closing the gap of air that had originally been in place.

Half-lidded the blonde teen opened his eyes, to see a new dance partner moving wildly before him. Just as before, Naruto's face heated slightly, his expression shifting to something unreadable for just a moment before it switched back to the sly grin he wore most of the night.

No-one noticed the look, except for Sasuke.

The raven haired teen followed the boys' movements from his peripheral vision for a while, decidedly he turned Sakura around so that he could watch just over her shoulder.

Heat began to wind it's way through the couple, the blonde and brunette mingling so subtly, so comfortably that you'd almost think they had something going on between them. Naruto remained half-lidded, grinning slyly as Lee seemed entirely unaware of the blush that had yet again formed on his friend's cheeks. Hands and arms ghosted nearer, contact forming and lapsing as the song continued to rattle the speakers.

The Uchiha's eyes were now narrowed on the two, almost too conspicuously watching the exchange. _Was_ there something between the two that he hadn't known about? Naruto had never seemed the type to be interested in guys, well, more than just close friends.

_Well, come to think of it_…

Although Sasuke had never really kept tabs on the blonde, he'd never heard of Naruto ever actually being in any relationship at all. As peculiar as it was, the teen just seemed to friend to most, enemy to few and nothing particularly special to anyone.

_I wonder_… His brow furrowed ever so slightly at the thoughts unfolding.

Catching the raven haired teen's eyes, Sakura followed his line of sight over her shoulder, confused as to what could hold his attention more than her.

"Heeeeey, Naruto!" the high pitched greeting of the pinkette brought several sets of eyes to her.

Sasuke inwardly groaned, dropping his arms slack as his sides at the grating sound piercing his eardrums. He glanced from Sakura to the blonde who was now staring at the two of them.

Sheepishly, the energetic teen waved to the Uchiha and pinkette, followed closely by none other than bowl-cut -who just seemed too happy for his own good. They stopped just a few feet from the two and Sakura rounded to face them cheerily.

"Lucky! Good, I wanted to talk to you guys more about joining the dance club!" The girl beamed.

For the umpteenth time that night, Sasuke tuned out the conversation around him, letting his eyes wander aimlessly. It's not that he didn't care what was to be said, well… yes, it _was_ that he didn't care at all what words would be exchanged. There were few people who's ramblings he'd actually consider, even fewer that made difference enough to be considered in decision making. Needless to say, the pinkette was not one of them. Still, he wore the same enigmatic expression as ever, a mask of complete indifference.

"…and thought you were really good, so of course we'd want you to join." a snippet of conversation breached his thoughts before he zoned out again.

_Sakura yammering away. Bowl-cut has a massive grin, _ugh_. Who throws the rock-on sign at a club? That guy's obviously drunk. Naruto staring at me. Girl we hired to serve guests in a mini-skirt. Just a few more minutes and I'll have some cake… Naruto _staring_ at me?_

"…instructs us, so you'll have to talk to him about it." the happy chirping died off for a moment, silence settling between the group. Still, the blonde's eyes teetered hesitantly over him, obviously watching the Uchiha's movements. It didn't make him uncomfortable _per-say_… but he _was_ suddenly questioning why the teen was sporting a confused and worried expression.

_Is that blush?_

After a moment of quiet, Sasuke brought his attention back to the conversation at hand. Okay, everyone was staring at him now.

_Alright, I missed something._

Expectantly, Sakura eyed the raven haired teen. After a long moment of what seemed to be a 3-on-1 staring contest, Sasuke narrowed his eyes and lifted his brow in a 'what?' expression to the pink haired girl.

Quirking a confused eyebrow, the girl chided him, "Ah, were you even listening, Sasuke?".

The lack of response was taken in the affirmative, and again the question was repeated.

"Like I was saying, wouldn't it be great if these two joined our little troupe? We'd be all set for the competition in a couple months."

Sasuke's brow returned to normal, his eyes now narrowing on the blonde and brunette standing before him. He stuck them with the subtle hints of a glare, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hn." was the noncommittal grunted response.

"What do you mean, 'Hn'? These two are great! All they need is a little practice and we're a shoe in for first place." Sakura began to take a slightly snippy tone.

The Uchiha just tightened his arms across his chest and glared down at her.

Resisting the urge to cower away, the pinkette threw a glare back at him. "You _know_ they're good. Oh, I bet they can dance perfectly with the rest of us. In fact, I'm willing to wager they could even do it right now."

Naruto's face deadpanned, his stomach lurching just a bit. The discussion was quickly becoming very unsettling.

With that thought, Sakura reached a hand to her ear, pressing the communication button on her headset. She softly spoke into the microphone. "_Kiba, I think we're gonna surprise _the prince_ now. Everyone ready to start this thing up?_"

Several voices rang back in her and Sasuke's ears in agreement, Kiba's falling in last "_Alright, if you're sure. 90 seconds and it's a-go._"

An already heated Uchiha dropped his arms to his sides, fists clenching, as he scowled at the thin, pink-haired girl. He received a coy grin in return.

It wasn't long before several figures lurked in toward the group. Suigetsu and Karin edged toward the back of the crowd silently. Ino and Hinata joined Sakura front and center, both wearing sickeningly sweet smiles. Sai and Juugo rounded in behind everyone else, the former with eyes still blaring toward Naruto.

The blonde in question had started to shift uncomfortably, he and Lee wearing similar questioning expressions.

"Don't worry, just watch and follow. I'm sure you already know part of it." Hinata murmured softly to the nervous pair.

With a trying-desperately-to-melt-your-face-off glare, Sasuke's eyes raked across all of his 'friends' in a quick second and landed again on Sakura.

"What are you doing?" his voice was dangerously low, growling almost audibly.

Before the girl could answer the question, the Inuzuka's voice sprang to life through the speakers, music lulling to a halt.

"Alright! We're having fun tonight, right? (_WHOOO!_) I thought so. Do we wanna see some more entertainment? (_WHOOO!_) Alright, I think Sasuke's got something he wants to perform."

A growl "_What do you think you're doing?_"

The light creak of a door sprang to life through the speakers, footsteps…

Jaw clenched, A threat "_I will kill you._"

…the crack of thunder and a howl. A smooth beat began in the background before the familiar opening to _Thriller_ sounded.

Muttered curses "_No._"

The pinkette cut into his thoughts, "I know you know this, Sasuke. And we've been practicing. Don't disappoint your guests, they're expecting you."

Sasuke was livid.

"_Sorry man, just following orders._" You could almost hear the smirk in Kiba's voice.

The dance group slowly began to come together, taking places loosely near each other. Sakura nodded toward Naruto and Lee, beckoning them to come near. The duo followed into place.

"Relax. Just move with us, we'll show you what to do." she whispered calmly. Somehow her smile was reassuring. Ino and Hinata joined in with warm smiles.

Vaguely the Uchiha noticed the eyes from all around beginning to follow his movements. The lights began to dim.

_Damnit_.

_3_.

_2_.

_1_.

With a last I-will-murder-you-in-your-sleep scowl, Sasuke fell into place, his back toward the already formed group.

_Damn. It. To. Hell_.

"_Ooo_ It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the daaark." It was surprising how closely the Uchiha could mimic a Michael Jackson voice. The group behind him swiveled their heads away, arms splayed to the sides. Naruto and Lee followed, just a micro-second behind.

"Under the moooonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart." A quick head jerk to the front and then back to the side.

"You try to screaaaam, but terror takes the sound before you make it." Sasuke tipped the brim of an invisible hat toward the ground. Another head jerk and the group took a sliding step forward, bending knees and slouching down some.

"You start to freeeeeze as horror looks you right between the eyes. You're paralyzed." Heads snapped forward.

"Cause this is thrilleeeer, thriller niiight."

Suddenly the group frenzied in motion, stepping in with a twitch of the neck, increasing their pace. Another neck twitch and arms splayed again, hips rocking up and down. This Naruto knew, he'd watched enough MJ in his life to recognize this dance. He was a bit slower, and Lee wasn't much better, but they followed in the group movement as well as they could.

"….You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller toniiiight."

"You hear the door slam, and realize there's nowhere left to ruuun."

The troupe took a few leaps forward, parting the air with their hands and followed into a truly Michael-esque hip rocking into the air. Sasuke's movements were limited, dancing somewhat to the tune. He glanced over his shoulder on occasion, a cool glare sent toward the group. Naruto couldn't help but watch his form dance off in front. The Uchiha really did have a good sense of rhythm. Spinning around and moon walking backward, he continued to sing.

Now facing the mutinous group, his face hardened into a devious grin and glare, eyes narrow on the moving bodies.

His only reply was a brief smirk from a few of the dancers as they lifted their arms in the air with a slap and slid to the side. Naruto's confidence in the dance began to outweigh his fear of making a fool of himself, his moves echoed only the slightest moment after the rest of the group as they raised their arms to the air and slid back toward the other side.

"You close your eyeees, and hope that this is just imagination." The dancers alternated, rocking back and fort, snapping their fingers with outstretched arms.

"But all the while, you hear a creature creeping up behind. You're out of tiiime." Sasuke's eyes narrowed on Naruto, a glint of something imperceptible flaring.

With a snap and another turn, Sasuke faced out toward what became a large crowd of people, arm opposite foot splayed as far as they could reach. With a short hip thrust, he started in on the chorus again.

"Cause this is thrilleeeer, thriller niiight. There ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes giiirl."

The dance troupe began back and forth, alternating, arms outstretched into the air like fast paced zombies. They rocked back and forth, hips and torso's alternating before shimmying some and beginning to all pivot on one foot, taking small steps around. Naruto's balance faltered for a moment, but he recovered without much notice. They took a few lurching steps forward before spinning and all taking their own momentary pose.

By that point, nearly the entire club's worth of people were watching the performance in the center of the floor. Kiba even found himself bobbing his head, taking the standard MJ crotch pose and shaking his outstretched hand into the air.

At the beginning of the next bout of lyrics, the dance began again. This time things occurred a bit differently. Naruto was confident he knew what to do, his head jerking to the side as his arms splayed around him. Different club goers began to join in as well, falling into place behind the group of dancers. It wasn't surprising in the least that more people knew the dance. This was Michael-freakin-Jackson, the prince of pop.

"So let me hold you tight and share a killer, driller, chiller, thriller here toniiiiiiiiiiight!"

At the point that the song hit it's crescendo, everyone in the club was once again a frenzy of dance, cheering and screaming. Some of the dances mirrored the troupe's, others found their way dancing in alternate Jackson-esque moves.

Eager, Naruto jumped out with his own set of moves, thrusting into the air and throwing a hand over his head. He bounced a toe up, arching his back and leg as he jerked his shoulders back and forth. Sasuke, eased around to him, having caught the off-display from his peripheral vision. They began to dance back and forth, as the Uchiha continued to sing out the chorus. As his voice teetered off, Kiba chimed in with the narration.

"Darkness falls across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand. Creatures crawl in search of blood, to terrorize your neighborhood…" The voice was deep and had an interesting eerie quality.

The raven haired teen continued to pull out as many of his favorite Michael Jackson moves as he could. The blonde teen countered with a display of his own crazy Jackson inspired dance. They locked eyes. At the last eerie narration, and the laughter that peeled through the speakers (really, it was extremely off-putting to hear Kiba's maniacal laugh) Naruto and Sasuke both shot off into the classic MJ crotch-grab pose, the Uchiha's head tilted down and the blonde's tilted back.

Cheers surrounded them. There was a round of back slapping, shaking hands, encouraging shouts, and even Juugo -who'd been bested in a dance off, was nodding his head in approval. Lee struck a pose, his thumbs-up high in the air. Again, Sakura engaged the blonde teen, proudly throwing an arm around his shoulders and voicing her high opinion of his dance skill to the crowd forming around them.

The dull thrum of bass reverberated through Sasuke's shoes, buzzing in his ears. There was a very unfamiliar tightness to his chest, his heart hammering roughly. Certainly the dance wasn't that exhausting, but the beating frantically pounding in his ears was terribly distracting. Carefully, he watched Naruto, sinking back away from the group as most of the attention was diverted to both the blonde and brunette newcomers.

"_Needless to say, you guys are gonna pay_. _Sleep with one eye open_."

"_We love you too Sasuke! Happy Birthday!_" Sakura's grand smile faltered for only a moment, but recovered gracefully, chattering to the entire dance troupe (sans a certain Uchiha) about the performance and dance prowess.

Sai's listless expression followed the raven haired teen, watching as he slowly snaked back between party goers, and then quickly ascended a staircase to the upper balcony. He just as quietly sank back between people, slowly rounding the outskirts of the crowd until he too was slowly making his way up the same staircase. Taking one last glance down across the dance floor, he made short eye contact with both Suigetsu -who's face was unreadable and Juugo -who's brow furrowed for just a moment as they exchanged a glance.

It seemed as good an opportunity as any to have what would be a nerve-wracking conversation with Sasuke. Sai continued toward the VIP rooms, certain that the Uchiha would be hiding there -but as he opened the last of three doors, he found that Sasuke hadn't been in any of them.

Cautiously, the dark haired teen made his way around the entire balcony area, peering into dark corners and across groups of people, hopeful to catch a glimpse of the raven. Finally, he made his way toward the set of double glass doors that led to the outer balcony and stopped just short of one. There he was, Sasuke in all of his quiet glory, lightly picking at a piece of rich, dark chocolate birthday cake.

This was as good a time as any; it had to be. Sai silently stepped out toward the silent teen, quietly taking as light of steps as he could. His heart was threatening to jump from his chest and his palms had an uncomfortable sheen of sweat slicked to them. Body and mind a nervous wreck, the teen approached still, wondering to himself a mile a minute.

Sasuke's back straightened as he seemed to tense entirely. The Uchiha tilted his head back and sighed long and hard. Slowly he turned toward Sai, a blank, impassive expression painted on his face. He quirked an eyebrow slightly, setting his fork down into the plate in his opposite hand.

_That wasn't who I was expecting… oh god_.

"Yes, Sai?"

The boy in question froze, his mind and thoughts grinding to a halt. Nope, he hadn't quite thought this part through all the way. After a moment of nervous fidgeting, he finally spoke.

"U-Um Sasuke… I-I…" Not a good start.

The Uchiha's mood dropped several degrees, his expression hardening all the while -and Sai's heart sank. The longer it took him to find his words, those extremely important words, the closer Sasuke seemed to just dismissing him.

How could he possibly say it though. How could he possibly express how much… he loved this one amazing person. How his heart seemed to soar when the Uchiha smiled. How the nervousness threw his stomach into knots every time they touched -in any sort of dance with each other. How he wanted to pull the raven haired teen close and never let go… to be able to say 'Mine.' and know it to be true.

Sai's throat became hoarse, his breath choked, face flushed.

A nervous tremor rocked his voice as he stammered again, "S-Sa-suke, I-I.. I l-la lo..."

"Stop." the curt response cut him off.

"Just stop Sai. All of this." No, this was not good. If the dark haired teen wasn't able to get it out now, he probably would never be able to.

"I've been able to ignore it until now. It never effected your dance performance or anyone else's, but this has to stop."

_No. No-no-no-no-no_. The dark haired teen raised a hand to the air, willing the other to stop, his face finally beginning to contort in the pain that suddenly swallowed his chest.

"It's starting to make the others uncomfortable. We can't do this anymore. For the sake of the group, I'm going to end this." The Uchiha slowly approached, stepping around the dark haired teen before him and continuing on a few steps. Sai turned to watch his beloved, his face pained and contorted.

"This… (he paused, gesturing to the air) …won't happen again. I'm sorry, Sai." Sasuke didn't have it in him to spare a glance back. Slowly he stalked away from the ever silent teen.

_Fuck, I need a drink._ Sasuke thought as he disposed of his nearly untouched cake and headed for his VIP room.

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Author-ess: I'd need a drink too. Lessee... Bawls is actually really good, try it. If you didn't get the reference, Gaara and Neji are hopped up on ecstasy. I was pondering putting in a part explaining that the reason Gaara just seems not to feel anything or just seems more unhappy/depressed any more is from prolonged use of the drug. Tis true- look it up :3 No, Naruto isn't attracted to Lee per-say, he's just realizing that he's attracted to guys in general. That tentativeness with Tenten should be a giveaway that he's just leaning a little more to one side than the other. I can definitely imagine Sasuke grooving to MJ (as funny of a thought as it is). And last but not least, god I feel bad for Sai. Everyone's always Sai bashing, making him out to be insensitive and a crazy bastard. I'm determined to get people to start to like him more. And no, Sasuke isn't just a prick (though he can be one). He's just not very good with that 'lets-hug-and-make-it-better' type thing. NOT a Uchiha kind of thing to do. Teehee. Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter picks up even more. Love-Love-Love!


	6. Chapter 6

Author-ess: **Ohmygawd**... this chapter makes me fidget a lot... just read, and you'll understand. I'm a little earlier than expected with this update, enjoy... I hope. ALSO: listen to these songs, all by The Far East Movement; Like a G6, She Owns The Night & Don't Look Now. Or at least take a glance over the lyrics. ESPECIALLY the last song. Oddly enough, nearly this entire fic hinges on the feeling I get from that last song and one exchange of words.

Disclaimer: I am no closer to owning the moon or the stars.

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Time lapse- 3:12am

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The view from the second story balcony of Pandemonium at night was really something to take your breath away. The faint glimmer of the rest of the city stretched out before the eye, past bars and late night venues. Electric neon signs hummed in all directions, urging passers by for just one last drink of the night; and at this surprising hour, the air of the street still seemed to buzz with lively traffic. But as far out as your could see, the night seemed to calm into it's regular pace. Miles-out the city life calmed to a halt, the shadows of buildings set against a faintly glowing sky -reflecting probably the sleepy stillness that truly was life's ebb from it's continuous hustle.

Sasuke glanced back down toward the immediate movement and noise around him. Midnight patrons weaved through the streets, laughing and having a good time. There really was something to being a voyeur of these types of things. He mused to himself what people would think seeing him just sitting there, watching every person to fall into viewing range.

_Humm.. I'm a creeper_.

His legs dangled slack below him, sitting balanced on the outside of the banister. From an outer stand point, a stiff gust of wind would probably send him hurtling to oblivion. He knew better, of course. The Uchiha had balanced his rear off the inner edge of the banister, legs falling forward over the metal guard and body tilted at just the right angle to plant him firmly in place. At any rate, he _was_ an athlete, and his body could react to something so disastrous quite easily -hence his firm grip on either side of himself.

No, perhaps sitting on the edge of a second story banister in the middle of the night after having polished off a bottle of champagne on his own wasn't the brightest of ideas… but it afforded him the peace and quiet he deserved after a night of insanity.

He felt tipsy, disheveled, somewhat tired and an overwhelming urge to curl up on one of the lounge couches in the VIP room and cuddle up to something soft and warm. The raven haired teen had long since lost his naturally suave look -hair mussed from extended dancing, body warmed and flushed from alcohol. His unbuttoned shirt rode down on his shoulders, dipping lazily to one side revealing a lean, muscular frame.

Languidly, he dipped his head backward, steadying himself for a moment as his world fell off kilter and allowed the cool air of the night to travel over his extended neck. A slight breeze sent a shiver down his spine and through his body. Goosebumps rose to the surface of his skin, tingling down their path.

_Mmmmm… nice_.

From an outside view, the raven looked absolutely edible. Something about the way his neck craned back, or his shoulders slipped out from his black button-up shirt. In any case, something about Sasuke was extremely alluring.

Enter Naruto.

The blonde in question had made it a point to seek out the raven at some point in the night to have a proper discussion about joining the dance team. He hadn't realized that dancing competitively could be so much fun (if the dance-off from prior was any indication). It was exhilarating, really. And after that dance to thriller, he felt like he'd proven himself enough to warrant at least a real chat.

His second wind had come and gone, and he felt it had gotten late enough that leaving the party would be acceptable. Now just to talk to Sasuke and get that over with. He'd seen the Uchiha snake past everyone nearly half an hour ago, after coming back down to the dance floor with fervor. The raven seemed even more unbidden the last time he was spotted, dancing animatedly with anyone that seemed to pass close enough. It was a side to the Uchiha that was uncharacteristically pleasant, if not a little unnerving.

Of course, he found the raven haired teen in the last place he thought of to look.

Striding out quietly to the edge of the balcony, Naruto gazed across the view from the second story of the building. The vantage point looked over the greater portion of down town, stretching into the distance with buildings of the main business district. Though the thrum of the music from down stairs was still clear, and the distant chatter of pedestrians walking down the streets buzzed in the background, it was still oddly serene.

He lost himself for a moment to the view and eerie calm that suddenly surrounded him.

The blonde stood for a good three minutes before he chanced a glance at the Uchiha, whom didn't seem to notice the company. Said teen was quietly perched on the second story outer banister, seemingly dangerously close to teetering off. Though a little worse for wear, the raven haired teen still looked amazingly put together, casual and polished. The way his body arched back some at the nip of the breeze, his lean form extending with every gust, could make even the strongest of wills bend to the Uchiha craving.

Naruto turned his gaze directly on the teen, leaning on the banister several feet away. Sasuke swallowed inaudibly, his Adam's apple bobbing over the extension of his neck; and then parted his lips just barely, letting out a soft sigh. If he didn't know better, it would almost look as if the raven haired teen was smiling.

What began first as a tingle in the stomach, raced up the blonde teen's chest, heating his extremities and flushing his face slightly. _When did Sasuke become so_… Even in his thoughts, Naruto was at a loss for words. He lightly passed a few fingertips across his cheek, feeling the warmth bristle further at the thought of just what to say to the Uchiha. It was just so.. _nice_ to see Sasuke that calm and contented. Of course it wasn't a side to the teen that was often expressed around people.

Naruto's eyes traveled over the other's frame, admiring the way his shirt slipped down over his shoulders, exposing an almost alluring elongation to his neck. Soft black lengths of hair fell back across his jaw, teasing along the elegant line until it reached a mussed mass over the crown of his head. His arms seemed relaxed, but thin, almost feminine fingers gripped the steel below him with intensity.

That certainly couldn't be the stuck up bastard that had shrugged him off several times during the night. The blonde exhaled deeply, lost in his thoughts about the teen. Just a little _too_ loudly.

Onyx eyes opened immediately, his body tensing as he straightened back up and glanced out of his peripheral vision at the intruder. There he saw a shadowed mass of black and blonde leaning heavily on the banister, staring directly at him. He groused inwardly. _What now_? Sasuke shrugged back into his shirt, leaning forward some to balance himself out as he turned his head to the blonde. Dark eyes narrowed, he put on his best what-do-you-want glare.

So lost in thought, Naruto didn't realize the raven haired teen's position changed until at least thirty seconds after it did. He was still staring, glassy eyed at the other.

_Crap_.

And then, though his eyes still had a softness to them, Sasuke was glaring at him. That was the point at which an exchange of words was expected -something to bail Naruto out of having been caught leering at the Uchiha. Nothing. Still, the raven haired teen glared at the other, brows furrowing just slightly. Awkward silence.

"Uh.. It's nice out here, huh?" _Way to go, idiot!_ Naruto inwardly face-palmed. Those definitely were NOT the right words.

Sasuke hummed darkly in response, tilting his head away some, eyes still following the blonde's movements.

"I'm glad I found you out here. I.. uh… wanted to talk about joining the dance group." the blonde began, his stomach twisting some with anxiety. He could still feel the awkward blush staining his cheeks. The rough palpitation of his heart made him uneasy. Sasuke didn't say a word, though his glare made up for the silence.

"I mean, I think I would do really well with you guys. And it's a lot of fun, and basically everyone else thinks it would be a good idea."

Still, the response was silence, though the Uchiha gained a soured expression.

"Look, I promise I won't hold you guys back. I'm a quick learner."

Sasuke swung his legs up over the banister, gracefully landing his feet on the cement and leaned back where he'd been sitting. He crossed his arms over his chest and stuck the blonde with an incredulous stare, left eyebrow arched slightly. Slowly Naruto pushed off the banister, moving to stand in front of the raven haired teen. Even in the dim night light, the blonde's toned stomach and chest were readily visible. The black he wore set off the even tan glow to his skin very well, and the way he wore his hair was oddly attractive. The just-rolled-out-of-bed look was easily exchangeable for the just-had-great-sex appeal.

"You saw what I can do. Don't you think I would be good?"

_Probably_. Sasuke mused to himself, still keeping the same expression in place. His eyes raked down the blonde's figure again, taking in even the smallest details.

"Are you even gonna say anything?" the blonde inquired, beginning to become more anxious and just a bit irritated.

_Aren't you persistent_. "Hn."

"I came all the way up here to talk to you, and you're just gonna brush me off again?" Naruto's tone was defeated, he didn't know how much more he could prod the Uchiha. "Ya know, it wouldn't kill you to be a little nicer to people."

To that, Sasuke's other eyebrow rose to match it's partner, his expression shifting to something unreadable.

"You know, nice? Smiling, laughing, actually responding to people when they talk to you!" The blonde began to gesticulate more animatedly.

_And maybe I'm not good at being nice_. "Maybe I'm not good at being nice." Sasuke blanked for a moment, confusion hinting in his expression at his own small rebuttal. _Wait, that wasn't supposed to come out_…

Naruto tilted his head, his face distorted in confusion. "How would you know if you've never tried?"

The raven haired teen's expression quickly turned cross. He stepped away from the banister, shifting his hip out some as he narrowed his eyes on the blonde. He hated being questioned. "And who's to say I haven't?"

"I have never seen you even _close_ to nice to anyone! You hardly talk to anyone outside of your little fan club, and it's only ever a one word response if you do." Naruto matched the disgruntled tone of voice.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed again, slipping back into a silent glare. The blonde began to relax after a moment, visibly seeming to regret the last small outburst. It would almost seem as though he was kicking himself inwardly, eyes half-lidded and a sullen expression creeping on to his face.

After a moment of contemplation, Sasuke began to speak again, very evenly, "Nice huh? How nice is it that _you_ came to _my_ birthday party and haven't even wished me a happy birthday all night? You were planning on leaving without saying it too, weren't you? Did you even think to bring a present?"

Naruto's lips dropped into a frown. It was true. It hadn't even thought to stop and get Sasuke a birthday present in all the haste, let alone even wish him a happy birthday. "Sorry." he replied meekly.

"I didn't even know I was coming until the day before. I didn't even think about it." he admitted.

The blonde seemed to sink even lower, scuffing a shoe across the ground. He eyed Sasuke's feet, pursing his lips to one side in mock thought. There probably wasn't anything to save the conversation from there. Naruto had lost, and he hadn't even known he was competing.

The Uchiha shifted his hips to the other side, eyeing the blonde before him. _He's pouting. Oi… The idiot almost looks cute standing there like that, tail between his legs. …wait, what? Cute? _The raven haired teen lifted his hand to the side of his face, distracted in thought for a moment, before he addressed the blonde again, "Well, seeing as how you didn't get me anything, I think you owe me a favor."

Naruto's big azure eyes lifted from the ground, his brows knitted together in confusion. Sasuke nodded to himself and stepped forward, taking the blonde's wrist and walking smoothly back toward the club. In his dazed state, the blonde teen hadn't realized they'd made it half way down a spiral staircase before he offered any resistance. Just a few inches lower, and they could almost be considered holding hands. That was… _weird_.

Pulling back slightly on a steely grasp he stuttered nervously, "W-what do you mean? What am I doing?"

Sasuke's lips turned up in a small grin as he replied, "Dance."

The blonde's heart hammered loudly in his chest, the sound beginning to muffle in his ears from the loud thunder of the bass. The wrist now firmly in the Uchiha's grasp warmed at the touch. He felt his face burning, eyes slightly wider with panic. _Dance? What's that supposed to mean?_

Slowing his gait out to the dance floor, the raven haired teen glanced back toward Naruto, a half grin still apparent on his face. Again, Naruto tugged against the hand firmly around his wrist, nervously nibbling at his bottom lip.

"Wait, Sasuke. What do you mean dance? With…?" he left the question open, not sure of how he felt about the answer.

Glancing back a second time the captor spoke in an amused tone, "I mean dance with _me_. You owe me a favor."

As they rounded to the far side of the dance floor, close to the bar side of the club, it became apparent that there were fewer people around. A good portion of club-goers left a bit earlier in the night, deciding 5-6 hours of dance time was more than enough for one long evening. Now of the groups that were left, couples danced closely together and small groups of young women danced fervently into the night. There wasn't a single of the blonde's friends in sight; no-one to bail him out of this one.

Naruto hesitantly shifted to one foot as his gaze darted about, anywhere but the raven's face. His stomach lurched uneasily at the idea, face tingeing more at the obvious eyes that followed him. To that the Uchiha crossed his arms, again rolling a hip out.

"Unless you're too afraid to…" he drawled, feeling a small rush at the almost-challenge.

The blonde's eyes instantly rose again, lips pressed together in a pensive expression. The way Sasuke's head lulled slightly to the side, hip shifted outward, he seemed almost playful. It definitely wasn't a typical stance. The raven haired teen had a slight flush that began at the bridge of his nose and worked it's way down into his neck and shoulders. The small smirk on his features made his body language even more confusing.

"Look, if you're scared, it's fine. I guess it just means that you don't really belong with the group after all. If you can't be comfortable dancing with me, then there's no way you can learn or join."

Face distorted in a half nervous expression, Naruto's brow knitted together again. The strong, quick thud of his heart rattled his body as his stomach fluttered uncomfortably. He nodded anyway, shrugging out his tense shoulders and gaining his best confident expression.

Sasuke tilted his head thoughtfully, eyes sinking half-lidded. He motioned toward the blonde with a finger, in a 'one moment' gesture and turned completely around. Pressing a communication button on his head set, he murmured something seemingly to himself. Momentarily, he turned his head toward the DJ booth as Kiba gave a thumbs up. The raven nodded to himself and then nodded widely to Kiba.

The current trance beat quieted and then the speakers were alive again, the familiar loud thrum of _Like A G6_ filling the room with new passion. Motioning this time to the blonde before him, the Uchiha fell into a relaxed pose, head bobbing slightly back and forth. He closed the few steps toward Naruto, and began to pop back and forth to the beat.

"Remember, dance." he chided in the same airy voice that had captivated the crowd during the first stretch of the night.

Naruto exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, allowing himself to relax some as he watched the Uchiha. Slowly his body began to move to the quick bass beat, but the mere proximity of the raven haired teen made his hair stand on end. It was almost electric, the way that heat surged off of the other boy. It reminded him that they were _really_ just that close, that Sasuke Uchiha had requested a dance with _him_. And for some unfounded reason, he had agreed and was now close enough to the teen that he could reach out and grab him -not that he could will himself to do much more than just move mechanically to the rhythm of the music.

A minute and a half into the song, he glanced up at Sasuke. Breath hitched, taking in the sultry demeanor of the raven. The glint in his eye was almost… predatory. The Uchiha smirked again as his blonde captive looked away, still dancing. _Interesting_. He trailed a hand lightly across the collar of the teen's shirt, ghosting a hand under his jaw, directing his eyes back up toward himself.

"Eye contact." he murmured, still grinning.

The blonde nodded, his face reddening even more at the feather light touch that brought his gaze up toward the sultry onyx eyes that followed his movements. Again they grew comfortable in dance, or at least Sasuke did. Naruto tried hard not to let his somewhat jerky movements show tell tale signs of his nervousness. His roaring blush did enough of that.

Sighing inwardly, Sasuke lightly traced a hand over the blonde's shoulder, leaning down to him and exhaling into his words, "Relax. You need to relax."

That same hand remained after the soft exchange. It lingered, just barely creating enough pressure to be noticed, but of course Naruto could feel the radiating heat causing his entire body to ignite. The blonde nibbled nervously on the corner of his lip, trying to force a small smile on to his face. This was something he would have to get used to. Obviously Sasuke himself was a major part in teaching the others in the group certain dances. It would be unavoidable.

The teen steeled himself, focusing on the movements in his body, listening to the steady fast-paced thrum vibrating through his feet. He'd let the catchy rhythm of the song move him -and slowly he began to let the music steady himself. But before he could get too used to the movements, the song came to a close. It rolled quickly into an electronic voice saying something unrecognizable. He was confused. Sasuke just kept grinning. _She Owns The Night_.

The latter slouched down closer to the blonde, hips shifting quickly to the new beat frenzying the dance floor. His hand traveled slightly further up, draping lightly near the crook of Naruto's neck. The other hand urged the blonde's toward a slim hip, letting it rest near the curve of his waist. Tentatively, the hand relaxed around the moving form. The blonde's eyes grew wider, but he forced his nervousness back down, following the raven in his quick motions.

Again, he'd have to let someone else take the lead. He wasn't quite sure what was appropriate in a situation like this. Much to his surprise, Sasuke seemed just as much at home dancing with him as anyone else that night. Practiced movements pulled the blonde into the rhythm. A loud whisper caught him off guard.

"I know you can do better than this. What happened to the dancer I saw earlier?" _Or do I have to be Lee for that?_ Sasuke entertained the thought for a moment.

A very inviting gaze caught the blonde's wide, sapphire eyes. The Uchiha's hand just barely brushed the base of his partner's neck, to which he unconsciously leaned toward. All the blonde could offer was the slight hint of a grin as he rocked into the dance, rounding his once loose arm toward the small of the raven haired teen's back. Said boy shivered slightly, his lips pulling up once again at the corners. He thoroughly enjoyed the exploration, more so enjoyed testing just where the blonde's limits were. Their eyes locked into each other's; Sasuke's deep and sultry, Naruto's just beginning to show the coy charisma he was known for.

Heat pooled between the two, twisting and curling through their forms.

Gradually Naruto's anxiety quieted to the back of his mind; it was just a friendly dance, after all. The close proximity of the body before him was almost intoxicating. The small smirk that graced the Uchiha's pale lips, the light brush of either of his hands every so often against heated skin, even the way nearly black eyes hovered so intently on his very own -all of those things were quite alluring.

In contrast, Sasuke found himself a bit more confused than he would have liked to admit. The way Naruto's eyes flitted between his own, down to his lips, and down further, just barely over his chest was very surprising. He hadn't expected the blonde to be so open to the idea, but it was with bemused satisfaction that he continued to draw closer to the teen. It wasn't every day he had the opportunity to dance with an attractive blonde so closely. In all likely hood it would be preparation for what would probably be many dances between the two.

The steady thump of the bass came to a halt as another song came to pass. This one was much more blithe, the steady threaded bass beats continued, however the tone eased up quite a bit. That was the song he'd been waiting for, he'd specifically requested these songs. The Uchiha didn't know quite what to expect, but he was certain something would happen. Either the blonde would bow out from the dance after having had too much, or it would prove there was likely more to the teen than met the eye. Slowly his lids dipped further down, just barely watching the shadowed form of the blonde dancing very closely before him. The actual sight was lost slightly as the lights began to dim, the flicker of focused strobe lights setting all motion into flashes of stilled picture. _Don't Look Now_.

Somehow the shadows drifted closer and closer, skin just breaths apart as the beat reverberated through them. Their movements were slowed, catching each other in a continuous, steady sway. Sasuke's lax arm swept up slowly, closing somewhat around the blonde's shoulders. He found himself whispering again, this time only mere inches away from the blonde's ear, "Feel the rhythm. Let it flow through you."

Naruto answered in an affirmative hum, his eyes drifting half-lidded. A small smile had worked it's way to his lips, something he hadn't realized. Feeling the warmth of the raven's arms lightly around his frame was far too distracting. In return, his other arm had snaked up the teen's chest, a hand full of the soft black fabric that was Sasuke's button-up. He clutched at the material gingerly, fingers brushing against heated, damp skin every so often in their feverish movement. The hand on the Uchiha's back shifted slightly every few seconds, rising up between lean shoulder blades or down further and around a gracefully rolling hip.

The blonde's hands weren't the only ones to begin to wander. Whether it was the alcohol beginning to rear it's head or the temptation of the warm form nearly against him, Sasuke's hands grew to have their own intentions. One curled up toward the back of the blonde's scalp, lightly tracing fingers through the soft hair; the other strayed across shoulders and down an arm, tracing lazily back up. All the while an indescribable heat billowed between them. At first it seemed as though just the movement and dance had caused his heart to speed up, but right about that moment he had begun to question the logic in that.

Steadied fevered breaths gave way to parted lips and light pants between gulps of air. Sasuke craned his neck down toward the blonde, lightly leaning his head against the other teen's. The air space that afforded the two their own personal bubbles was quickly dissipating.

The raven haired teen mouthed the silent lyrics of the song, just loud enough to breath light syllables across Naruto's ear. The blonde shivered some, the hand around his partner's back tensing loosely around his frame. They grew even closer from the action, skin just barely whispers apart. The Uchiha breathed in deeply, appreciating the scent of the golden hair so close to his face. Naruto smelt of a particularly nice fragrance, commercially produced, but still warm and musky.

Hands switching positions, the raven loosely entangled his opposite hand into the blonde's hair, the other looping around his waist, bringing their frames achingly close. He could feel the light graze of the other's hips, and if his imagination weren't playing tricks on him, a somewhat pronounced bulge dead center and just a bit lower. At that his heart leapt into his throat, stomach practicing acrobatics from the sensation. That was certainly unexpected.

He leaned his forehead to the side of Naruto's gazing down at him through fogged eyes. _Is he biting his lip?_ The Uchiha thought to himself, unconsciously licking his own somewhat.

All the while, the same blonde was willing himself to control his motions. Something about the dance and the music and Sasuke's presence was throwing his entire world off balance. He was fighting to understand just what his body was doing. The way he was reacting to the other teen's touch, to his heat… something was very… _different_. The entire sensation was so unfamiliar, it was almost frightening.

Heartbeat panicked, and breaths panted roughly, he leaned into the other frame, nudging his head toward the raven's. Slowly his closer hand trailed up the Uchiha's chest, releasing the fisted fabric and snaking up to the juncture of his shoulder and neck. Their intense, almost sensual movement could almost contend with the dances the Nara and Temari had shared throughout the night.

Sasuke's stomach and shoulders tensed with the rushing flames bristling his skin. It was tremendous, and amazing; and it was Naruto. That indeterminate feeling was beginning to take form. He could feel the fluttering curl of pleasure and anxiety wind it's way through his core, tendrils lapping both through his chest and down into his loins. It was a rush he hadn't felt in a long time, not even in his impromptu liaisons with Sai.

The blonde teen's body moved of it's own accord, feeling every single intimate mingling of blazing skin. It was too much to handle, far too much to transfer into coherent thought.

Without having known it, several sets of familiar eyes had caught sight of the pair. Dark, narrow eyes burned with fury. Lethargic brown eyes held a slightly curious gaze. The last set belonged to Kiba, who was laughing so hard he couldn't control himself. Those eyes teared at the corners, crinkled and fully amused. He set into motion something that just made him double over in a fit.

At the last lengths of the song, Sasuke pulled his higher hand down across his blonde partner's jaw line, leaning his own face back just slightly. Their eyes met, heavy and bleary with fervent longing and confusion. Without much thought at all, the Uchiha leaned down toward Naruto, pulling the other closer as his body betrayed what should have been steeled self control.

A bare whisper of lips met, slightly parted, breathing lightly around each other's mouths. They could taste each other in the exhaled breaths. And before anything could motion to stop it, the pair closed the tiniest gap between them, mouths meeting in an excruciatingly heated, passionate kiss.

_NO. NONONO-FUCKING-NO_.

_Well... this should prove to be interesting_.

_Jesus man, g-get a room... Oh god my side... ah, cramp!_

Very quickly, without warning, several things happened in rapid succession. Kiba nearly fell out the DJ booth as _DJ Got Us Falling In Love _began playing in the background of the entire situation. Naruto's eyes shot open, terrified of what had just happened without his cognitive acknowledgement. Sasuke's eyes parted just in time to see a very vehement dark eyed brunette rushing at them, fists clenched, shouting curses into the air. Naruto was first pulled backward at the collar of his shirt by someone unknown, pulled forward and pushed to the side by Sasuke and then dragged backward very quickly by several sets of hands. The loud shouting and cursing that almost always instigated a fight ringing against the blaring music was lost to the sound of a scraping door and the hurried scuffing of shoes.

The night was cold and warm and pleasant and disheveled. It was an amazing mess. Naruto felt sick and troubled, uncertain and yet somehow content, though he knew he was moments from passing out or vomiting at any point. But yet, out of the blue, for reasons that fate itself could not surmise, he realized that things were no longer how he'd always perceived them to be, not nearly at all.

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Author-ess: Made ya look! Okay, stop being angry. This is where the drama really gets juicy and the interactions begin to mean just a little bit more. But it was nice while it was going, huh? Lessee... Nara's gonna have some questions to ask. Kiba probably busted a rib there laughing so hard. Sai is NOT pleased. Sasuke is definitely attracted to the blonde (which will prove difficult when they begin dance training together), and said blonde is so utterly lost an confused with all of his thoughts and actions he doesn't even know where to begin. So yeah, don't be too miffed, I'm just going with the flow. Also, I basically borrowed a phrase from _House of Leaves_ by _Mark Z. Danielewski_ . It's pretty kick-ass. Just sayin'. Comical awkwardness and wanton desire to come! THANKS! As always thank you sooooo much, and leave some LOVE LOVE LOVE!


	7. Read Important

_**Author-ess Note:**_

**Alright, my lovely readers/reviewers, I have a fairly important announcement and/ or issue** (for lack of better wording). This is NOT a new chapter, but it matters all the same.

As all of my continuous readers have noted, One Hell of a Birthday has been on hold for a while, as I've been lost in my own personal world. It has come to my immediate attention (although I've known all along) that the content that I write/distribute is too explicit and not supported or condoned in any way by FFN.

Now, I personally took the time to read through the rating guidelines before I posted my first fic, and as much as it's mildly discouraging, I do understand that the grade of my writing (or lack there of by some standards) is illegitimate and therefore against FFN regulation. My latest review, posted by one: _Veni0Vidi0Vici_ , stated that I should delete my story as a whole because of this.

Of course, being passive aggressive as I am, I can relate and understand the sentiments.

**My response read as such:**

"I don't in any way disagree with what you posted, as I took the time to thoroughly read through the rating guidelines before even posting my first fic. and by all means, the rating of my writing could be considered NC17 at best in many instances; Therefore I understand that the grade is not in any way supported by FFN. And as it stands, I'm not trying to stir up a fight.

However, out of curiosity, I have but one question. You actually took the time to read through the story (as you did comment on chapter 6) and then pegged me for the unapproved rating?

Me of all people, someone on here that barely has 60k words written in total on this site, gets less than 18 views on any given day, one of many thousands of people that write things of that same grade, and a person who actually gives a thorough warning, as apposed to the sporadic chatter that many others supply.

I do understand entirely; seeing as how this site has no way to monitor the age or maturity level of the readers, certain content is absolutely unacceptable for certain viewers. But it would be the same anywhere you go. I could just as easily post on adultfanfiction, and the same readers would flock there- seeing as how the only reason they have an "18 or older" button is to relieve the site of liability.

Alas, I'm off topic. If you are absolutely adamant, I'll drop the first chapter, reword or rewrite it to some degree. But if your aim is to wipe away the perverse nature of all writing on this site, you're in for a rough ride. Seeing as how FFN doesn't have the MA/ NC17 filter, M as a rating has come to circumvent that grade entirely (normally with some description in an author's bio or chapter/story notes.) If you want to, peg me at fault, because to some degree I am, and I will admit that- But if I am at fault, then so are the thousands of other writers that post such content. And truthfully, making someone as easily looked over as me the martyr is moot. I'm not saying you're not right, but targeting such a small fish in a deep ocean doesn't make much sense.

Respond as you will, degrade or berate me if you see fit, but my point still stands. And if you still believe it to be such a great travesty, I am more than willing to alter my first chapter because I'm willing to be mature about this. But as I said, there are a great many people you'll need to influence if you really want to change anything on this site. I've read from some absolutely fantastic authors on here that can describe the more natural elements of life to amazing degrees while still being tasteful.

I'd like to close by saying I do apologize that you found my story to be that distasteful. Respond back, should you deem it worthy.

Ja, Hana"

**Now, this is in no way intended to stir up flames or fights.** I will be straight forward with this. I may very well be adjusting my posts on FFN to accommodate the requests of readers that find such content to be distasteful. What I want is to hear your voices. Do you really want me to change the grade of my writing, and alter my stories and chapters? Up to this point, I hadn't received such a claim, but if people unanimously decide that my language or writing content is too vulgar, I of course will concede. If I don't hear anything, I'll have no course to run but assume the readers don't care either way, and change the content of my stories to accommodate those few who I've perturbed.

As an aside, I'm still working on this story, and the next chapter should be up very soon.

Lend me your opinions, people. I want to hear it all- the good, the bad and the ugly!

Tremendous amounts of love,

HanaChan


	8. Chapter 7

Author-ess: Oh gosh! I fell out of the groove. Seriously, seriously fell out of the groove. So, I've been on hiatus for a while: lots of work & very little play. But of course, I've been branching back into my other hobbies and keeping myself busy. I came back though! And, although I'm not sure if it's up to par with how OHoAB had been progressing before, I tried to keep the same energy going. GOMENASAI! In truth, not long after chapter 6 had been posted, I started the first page or so of this chapter, so I apologize if it seems a bit disjointed. However, this marks my "coming back", so try to enjoy & I'll try to keep improving. This chap. is basically the aftershock; somewhat short, but explains some stuff from ch6 (might need some fine tuning- again gomen)

As an aside, the verdict is in! OHoAB stays as-is. You guys responded in the tremendous way that only you amazing readers could! I wanna thank you all from the bottom of my beat up ol' heart! You guys are the reason I write! *happy wiggle*

Disclaimer: really, I don't own much in this world... can't even own a house, could I possibly own this?

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_Flashes, just brief glimpses in the darkness really. Thick awareness floods as a scene plays out. Déjà vu? Perhaps, but it's far too real this time. Sasuke slips a light arm around a thin waist, pulling the corresponding frame closer. They are just inches apart now. There's light enough to be able to see everything around, but there is nothing besides him. A veil of darkness envelops him, casting both people into shadow. All the while his expression is as clear as day, but his intent has yet to be sought. He leans in closely; a pulse rocks the two -whether it be music or the thrumming of a heart. It is loud and knowing. Pale, heated lips are just millimeters away now. There is the glint of desire in his eyes, and suddenly there's a surge of corresponding desire, pulling the two together. The Uchiha's lips part, ghosting the sensation over the opposite set. Whispered breaths and words, an exchange perhaps. The only thing discernable: "Naruto..."_

Muted along those hushed words, a growl akin to thunder sounded in the distance. The cascade of lingering rain on rooftops brought awareness to the surrounding world. If a person were to listen closely enough, it could almost be described as a melody, the sodden hum of nature taking course. It was dark, then again, behind closed eyelids anything is dark.

_Humm, sounds like rain. No wonder it's so dark_.

The soft brush of covers fell away from a stiff, sore tan torso.

"Ughhhhh." _Wow, I feel like crap. From last night. That dream_…

And though the blonde thought it over through every perspective he could conceive, he still couldn't find reasoning behind the mysteries of dream worlds. The flashes he could recall seemed a jumble, not making much, if any sense. Surprising? -no not really. He'd never been one to think too much into dreams or their respective meanings. He simply had never been interested in trying to understand. So of course, shrugging it off, the teen moved on to more immediate concerns; Like why he was so god-awful sweaty.

Naruto pulled a rumpled lump of sheet from under his side, throwing it down toward his legs to alleviate some of the mid day heat that warmed him. It was muggy and humid; whatever he'd been sleeping on was very uncomfortable and lumpy; and his entire body felt like it'd been pounded to a thorough pulp, every muscle was soft and tender. Over all, it was a pretty awful way to wake up on a Sunday in July. There was only one other thing that seemed to be amiss. At the thought, the blonde paused and tilted his head to the side, listening. After a few long moments, the anticipated noise sounded: muffled shouting and laughter.

_There it is. And now, somebody's going to_…

'SLAM!' …_the door_.

Working his hardest not to flinch, the 'sleeping' teen relaxed his breathing and listened carefully as the sound of footfalls encroached toward where he was laying. It stopped just a few feet from where he was sprawled, which he was very certain was a couch, and the room fell silent. Though instinct told him not to move or make a sound, it was increasingly difficult to keep curiosity at bay.

30 seconds passed. _Hmmm_... _What's going on?_

A minute more passed. _Okay, they didn't just disappear_...

Another minute passed before the blonde hesitated in cracking open one bleary blue eye. The smallest of motions awarded him with a sharp 'THWAK' to the face.

"Gruh-uh! Gow-what the HELL!"

The offending accent pillow landed with a soft 'plop' down on the floor next to the blonde and then the sudden sound of chortled laughter was directly above him.

_Damn it, I know that voice!_ "Fuck you, Kiba!" the blonde cried, brows gnashed together, grimace in place. When Naruto finally ducked under the cover of his own hands and opened his eyes, there stood the unruly teen.

A proud Cheshire cat smile and half lidded eyes stared down at him, "Payback's a bitch, huh?"

Though thoughts were still swimming through his head, the blonde teen had the unmistakable desire to lash out at one specific target. Instead, he flopped his arms over his face and tried to muffle the sound of teasing laughter.

A soft 'tsk' sounded a few feet back as more foot steps slowly closed in on the blonde's location. Shikamaru simply sidestepped the gloating Inuzuka and sat stiffly on the floor against the side of the couch closest to Naruto's head. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back toward the blonde, head dipped against the soft sofa cushion behind him. Kiba slouched down and shoved Naruto's legs to one side, perching comfortably on the far end of the couch.

After a few long minutes of gathering himself, the blonde laid his arms down to his sides, lifting himself up into a half sitting position. Still blinking sleep from his eyes, he yawned loudly, folding an arm under his head.

"Hmf... So... what happened last night, Romeo?" Kiba half-snorted the question.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"He means, what's going on with you and _Sasuke_?" The Nara broke in, shifting slightly so that his head was somewhat turned toward his friends.

"Yeah, I didn't know you two had a _thing_." The dog-like brunette tried to elaborate.

The emphasis on 'thing' made Naruto's stomach squirm uncomfortably. His heart began to take on a double-time rhythm. Fighting what seemed to be a loosing battle against blushing, the blonde answered defensively, "WHA? There isn't any_thing_ going on with me and Sasuke."

Both Kiba and Shikamaru seemed to cock an eyebrow in unison, the former tilting his head to the side and sticking the blonde with questioning stare.

"Don't lie to us. I saw the way you two were dancing at the club last night." Kiba retorted curtly.

"We saw you two kiss. There _is_ something to explain." The Nara was much more adept at being aloof. His tone remained neutral, even with the emphasis on certain words. He'd always been so good at being the voice of reason in peculiar situations.

In response, Naruto scratched the back of his neck softly and focused a distanced glare at the ceiling. His memories from the previous night seemed to trickle back even more acutely; brief glimpses of a dark, fogged club, the indescribable heat that found it's way into his interaction with Sasuke, the soft, warm skin of said raven's lips.

The thought created a pained expression on the blonde's face, though his cheeks began to tinge a rosy pink color. He didn't know what or how he felt about the entire situation, but one thing was certain: That one scene from the birthday night would be on absolutely everyone's lips for a while to come.

The blonde frowned and huffed a long sigh before responding. "I... I really don't know what's going on. What happened last night? I don't really remember everything."

"Well..." The Inuzuka began with in a long breath, "...Birthday boy took you out to the dance floor and requested a few songs from me, which caught my attention. And you two danced... a little too much. You kissed him, and then his emo bastard boyfriend flipped out and tried to deck you. Of course, we jumped in and dragged you out of there."

At that point Naruto's mouth was entirely agape, hanging loosely down to his chest. One particular word caught his attention before the rest had time to properly register. "_Boyfriend?_"

Previously silent, Shikamaru cleared his throat, fixing Kiba with an incredulous glare. "Actually, WE, meaning Choji, Lee and I had gone looking for you after we'd decided it was time to leave. I finally found you at right about the point you two were grinding together. Honestly, you're more trouble than you're worth… Apparently we weren't the only ones getting the show, 'cause the moment after you locked lips with lover-boy, Sai came out of nowhere swinging.

"We basically had to drag you away from the two of them. They were fighting, yadda yadda yadda, and honestly I'm not about to get caught in the middle of a lover's quarrel... too troublesome."

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes, resting back further into the couch cushion, shaking his head slightly.

"Yeah, that. That's what happened last night." Kiba agreed.

"Boyfriend?" The shell shocked Naruto repeated to himself quietly.

"No, not exactly." The exasperated Nara replied. "We've been running damage control most of the morning, trying to keep _you_ out of trouble. From what Sakura says, they weren't actually together, and I assume there's very little chance of that changing after what happened last night."

Naruto slumped back against the couch again, throwing his arms over his face to try to hide the creeping blush that threatened to return. _Oh god… what did I do?_

* * *

'Knock-knock-knock'

"Mrph..." came the grunted reply through the soft warm stuffing of a down pillow.

'Knock-knock-knock'

"Nnnmmmmh!" The raven haired teen replied again, irritation slowly edging into his tone.

'KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-THUD-THUDDD'

Sasuke winced and scowled as deeply as he could, growling loudly in response, "Tha HELL do you want? !" His mood only worsened as his bedroom door creaked open quickly and snapped shut loudly.

An appreciative "Humm…" sounded from the far side of his room and his couch squeaked softly as though weighted down some. The same person released a low sigh and audibly began leafing through the pages of a book or magazine.

The raven haired teen groaned quietly as he shifted in bed, curling further up into his comforter. As much as he wanted to just roll over and fall back asleep, two things kept him from being able to; one of which was sitting on his couch making a terrible racket by just reading. The second thing bothering him was the intense throbbing he felt in his jaw and his chest. The left side of his rib cage was obviously bruised, and his jaw was tender and slightly inflamed.

Those, of course, were the rewards of what had occurred the night before. Gingerly he sat up slightly, glancing over to his dark, royal blue couch to glare at his unwanted guest.

Said person lazily glanced up in his direction and 'tutted' softly, shaking his head some.

"I heard he laid into you last night."

"Who let you in?" Sasuke responded irritated.

The silver haired teen smirked and rested the magazine he was looking through in his lap, stretching out comfortably over the couch. "I heard you deserved it."

The raven flipped him the finger in response, pinching the bridge of his nose with the other hand in an attempt to stave off an impending headache.

"He bruised you up bad. Good job, ass."

Sasuke scowled, throwing his most heated glare at his best friend, the bridge of his nose crinkling at the intensity. He mentally cursed the butler that allowed the teen into his home.

"You fucked up, ya know? Sai said he quit. He doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore. Honestly, I'm not sure I blame him." Suigetsu chided, leaning his head back on the couch cushions.

The raven haired teen continued to glare, silently fuming.

"We can't compete now; we don't have a group anymore. And we could have avoided all of this…" The teen continued as he received only silence in response.

"Yeah, I know, we wouldn't be a group without you. You taught us damn near everything, blah-blah-blah..." The silver haired teen droned as his hand mimicked the motion of a duck yapping.

"But here we are, one man down, just a few months from the competition. You need to fix this." Suigetsu's last statement ended in a very somber tone, contemplative. The teen closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose.

"Sakura's been blowing up your phone all morning, she's livid. Sai's all over the net bad-mouthing you. The rest of us, well... we're here, we're going with it. But we need you to make this right, man. We haven't practiced this hard for this long for nothing. This thing with you and Sai, it's not my business… but we're not gonna make it without an eighth person." He ended the one-sided conversation there, pressing his lips together in a pensive line.

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, drawing his brows together in thought. A sudden weight hitting his chest startled him from his thoughts. He looked down, curiously fingering the light blue towel pooled in his lap. After a moment the teen glanced back up to his friend, quirking a brow in question.

Suigetsu sighed again, standing from his position on the couch and throwing a similar towel over his shoulder. He quietly walked toward the raven, crossing his arms over his chest with a half smirk.

"Don't really care how long of a night it was, or how bad he fucked you up. It's our gym day, and I don't plan on taking a day off. Juugo's already there, so we need to hustle."

Sasuke threw his legs over the side of his bed, restraining himself from wincing at the feeling that tore through his left side. Slowly he stood and stretched, throwing the soft cotton towel over his shoulder as well. He quietly made his way toward the door to his room, turning slightly to look back at his friend.

"Gimme five."

"I'll be down in my car, hurry your ass up!" the silver haired teen clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder before waving the same hand and turning out the door toward the stairs.

The Uchiha took a long, slow breath, letting all of the information from the past 24 hours catch up to him. Somehow he'd managed to pull off something amazing, something crazy and something potentially devastating in such a sort period of time.

Lightly, he traced the already forming bruise across his rib cage, his lips turning down in a frown. Then, as an afterthought, he brought the hand up to his mouth, drawing his fingertips across pale lips. _Those_ had set the chaos into motion last night; His own lips and one blonde idiot's pair of soft lips.

After a moment of thought, the raven haired teen stepped into motion, heading for the bathroom to ready himself for a long day of working out with his closest friends. He was eager to work off as much of the tension and stress that he could from the past day's events, regardless of how much energy he zapped the night before. He would clear his head and think about the whole situation. Surely something could be fixed.

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Author-ess: Do please be kind, I'm trying to get back in the groove, I promise! But as I said, I'm gonna keep trying and earnestly try to get chapters out in a somewhat timely fashion. It might be slow going (as I just got promoted at work- and am consequently on a rough schedule with more stress) but I'll try! My lovely, lovely readers, I have returned! Lo-lo-lo-LOVE! Ja ne!


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